Thief in the Midnight World
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Nana isn't going to let her husband's actions ruin her son's life. Which means it's time to reconnect with her old life...as the daughter of a family of Phantom Thieves! Tsuna's destiny is about to get a lot more interesting, while hidden secrets are going to be revealed. Will the mafia be able to handle Phantom Dark, or is the Vongola in for a wake up call?
1. Chapter 1

Emiko Niwa was rather surprised to hear from her younger sister. The last time she saw Nana was when she got married to that rather odd young man who felt off.

"Nana! It's lovely to see you. And who's this little one?" asked Emiko.

Nana smiled and picked up the little boy. He was about Daisuke's age, if not a few months older.

"This is my little Tsu-kun. Tsuna, I want you to say hi to your aunt Emiko," said Nana brightly.

Tsuna chose to hug his mother's neck and hide. Nana sighed a bit.

"I'm afraid he's been rather skittish since that foolish husband of mine brought his boss to our house. Is father home?"

In short order, Nana was catching up with her sister and drinking tea, while Tsuna got to know his cousin Daisuke. The two of them were playing with the toys in the living room.

"So what did your foolish husband do this time?" asked Daichi. He never really liked Iemitsu much to begin with... the man was too flaky.

Nana sighed in exasperation.

"He decided to put a seal on my son without even consulting me. I don't know what kind, but Tsuna's been rather skittish and his skills have deteriorated in far too short a time. He used to be rather graceful and now he's positively clumsy. To say nothing of his grade...they've dropped so far that even the teachers have noticed something is up."

Daichi and Emiko frowned. Placing a seal on a child was not something to be done so lightly. And from the sound of it, Nana's husband used one of the older ones that weren't used anymore because they were positively useless and did more harm than good.

"What did your husband say on the matter?" asked Daichi.

Nana's eyes hardened. She was clearly furious about the whole matter.

"He continues to pretend he knows nothing and he's never home. I suspect he's going to play the fool and claim ignorance. This was the first visit home he's made in over six months, and he goes and does this. If he's not going to give Tsuna the proper training, then he has zero say in what we teach him."

"You want him to join Daisuke in the family training?" asked Emiko seriously. Nana had elected to leave, rather than continue the family business. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that the family was put in danger by their rivals, only to come back from an estranged member taking up the old ways.

"If Iemitsu is going to abandon us, then I see no reason why Tsuna can't learn our ways instead. It would serve the fool right, and even I can see the seal they put on _my_ son will only hurt him in the long run."

Daichi took a long pull of his tea.

"We should figure out which seal they used first, and remove it once we find out the proper counter. Of course this means you'll have to rejoin our ranks," said Daichi. Having the mother there would make things go much smoother.

Nana nodded. She would not allow her idiot husband to ruin their son's life.

It took them three months to find the seal that was used, and another two before they could remove it safely. As they suspected, it was an older, rather barbaric seal that forcibly shoved the natural magics and made it very hard for the victim to compensate because it made controlling their natural powers almost impossible.

Nana would love to have _words_ with her husband over this, but had to keep her tongue because she suspected that if he ever found out she had it removed he might try it a second time.

Better to plead ignorance and keep Tsuna far from the man until their family gifts fully manifested.

* * *

Tsuna would be the first to admit his family was weird. But he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Even if he found the way his mother woke him up when he would rather sleep in very annoying.

Having the bed collapse inward and dropping you in the basement got really annoying, really fast. Though it was nothing compared to the fact his mother made certain he would have to dodge Hibari-san _every freaking morning_.

He still didn't know what exactly his mother did to piss the other boy off, but every morning when he went to school he always had to find a way past the other teen or he would end up bitten to death in short order. Regardless of whether he was actually _late_ or not. Considering Hibari also brought in his Disciplinary Committee to their little game of cat and mouse, Tsuna had gotten very, very good at getting to school without being seen or noticed.

Then again it was much harder to hide in broad daylight than it was at night. He was a _ghost_ when it came to moving at night.

"Tsu-kun! Breakfast is ready!"

Tsuna easily dodged the traps around the house. It was almost second nature at this point. The entire home was an obstacle course that changed every morning, save for certain areas. The kitchen, living room, bathroom and master bedroom were the only safe areas.

Personally he always though the basement was the worst area. Whenever he overslept and ended up dumped in there, it usually took him an _hour_ to get through the traps and other tricks his mother had set up and then through the security system.

Seeing the box on the table, Tsuna dismantled the locks and took his breakfast out. It was part of his mother's odd habits, to make him work for his food.

On the plus side, the bullies he had to deal with at school every day had never successfully destroyed his lunch. He always took a bento to school that had a combination lock and was practically indestructible. And even if they tossed it in the trash, the food was perfectly safe once he retrieved it.

"Itadakimasu~!" said Tsuna happily.

He grabbed his things from his room, then went out the window. He wasn't dealing with them a third time, and it wasn't that far a jump.

Tsuna looked around carefully. He saw four of Hibari's men and the prefect himself was at the gate. He grinned, and came up with a route that let him evade all of them.

Once he was safely in the school (where Hibari and his men wouldn't bother him), he whistled as he went to class.

It was only as he was leaving that he remembered something important.

Today was his fourteenth birthday.

"Tsu-kun~!"

Tsuna grinned as he came home.

"What is it Mama?"

"Auntie Emiko and Grandpa are here~!" said Nana happily.

"What about Daisuke?"

"He'll be here later. We don't want to ruin the surprise for him," said Nana cryptically.

Translation: he was off exploring Namimori since the party wouldn't be until later. For some reason Nana always had Tsuna's birthdays after he hit thirteen take place after seven.

Tsuna had the feeling it had something to do with their family and why he was always training with those ridiculous traps. His mother had yet to confirm or deny that they were a family of Phantom Thieves... because most of the traps were usually the kind to protect valuables in rich homes or museums. Or were meant to deter the really, really good thieves.

He hated that he had to keep up the guise of being "Dame-Tsuna" though. Maybe his mother would let him drop it as a birthday present?

"Tsu-kun, there's something special in your room. Why don't you go see what it is before the party?" said Nana with a smile.

Clearly whatever the present was had to be tied to whatever it was their family specialized in.

Seeing the picture of his crush, the school idol Kyoko, Tsuna felt heat surge in his body. He almost collapsed on the floor, but managed to keep up right.

This wasn't like the time he was five, when fire coursed through his veins. Or the seven months after that when the seal was removed, and the fire came again.

This was something else. Something that had been lying in wait for years before he was ready to handle it.

Suddenly all those times he helped with the rituals that kept the seals on the many artworks in his aunt's home made a lot of sense. They were preparing him for this, to handle this power.

He felt something or someone attaching itself to his consciousness. Like a great cat stretching out after a very long nap. It took Tsuna several minutes to register something important.

He looked nothing like himself!

Tsuna ran to the full length mirror in his room...suddenly it's presence made far too much sense.

He was at least two feet and a half taller than he was before, his hair had shifted from caramel colored to that of a deep amethyst. His eyes were like purple jewels and his skin was slightly tanned. He looked like he could pass for his late teens to early twenties, rather than the rather short fourteen year old he was. His clothes barely fit his new frame at all.

"MOM!"

Nana and Emiko giggled when they saw his new form.

"Oh my, you look so handsome Tsuna-kun!" said Emiko delighted. And to think she only had to wait a few more months before Daisuke underwent the same transformation.

"Mom... is this the reason why you won't admit to our family being Phantom Thieves?" asked Tsuna twitching. "Because I hadn't awakened yet?"

"That's right! My Tsu-kun is so smart~!" said Nana happily.

 _No, it's because I read so much manga that I can recognize an obvious setting for a story involving magical phantom thieves..._ Tsuna thought with a sweatdrop.

What followed was a basic explanation and an assignment, which Tsuna had already guessed was coming. Basically it was something passed down for four hundred years (only to the males), the only way to reverse it was for "Dark" (which was the name of the spirit inhabiting his body) to find the 'sacred maiden', and he would now be sent on assignments to steal artifacts. Though odds were he would have to do some traveling when it came to stealing.

Unlike his cousin Daisuke, Tsuna didn't live in an area where high classed museums with potentially dangerous artwork happened to cluster in one location.

Besides...it meant he would have a chance to avoid Hibari, who hated it when people "disturbed the peace of Namimori". He didn't want to get bitten to death after all.

"So to sum everything up... this is hereditary for the boys, I'll transform every time I see Kyoko-chan and feel my heart race, the transformation has no actual time limit, and the only way to shift back is for Dark to find another girl that makes his heart race, right?" said Tsuna.

"Exactly!" said Nana happily.

Tsuna twitched.

"No, I've read enough manga about magical occurrences and phantom thieves to recognize common plot points when I see them. I was kinda expecting something like this to happen when you wouldn't admit to why you make me evade all those traps every morning or learn how to hack into high level computers," said Tsuna flatly.

Daichi and Emiko laughed outright at that.

"Do I at least get to have the fun of watching Daisuke fumble around trying to figure things out when it's his turn?" asked Tsuna hopefully. That was the only thing that could make this entire headache worth it... seeing someone else have go through the same thing, except without the knowledge base Tsuna had of magical transformations.

Daisuke wasn't much of an otaku like Tsuna. He preferred to paint and make his own artwork rather than read graphic novels.

Emiko's grin was evil.

"Of course!"

"In that case, where am I supposed to go and what do I need to steal?" asked Tsuna grinning.

He could live with being a thief... all the "normal" jobs were so boring, and at least no one would dare call him "No Good Tsuna" while he was in this form.

The theft went off without a hitch, spawning a large number of rumors about the return of Phantom Dark.

Though it was what happened after the theft, when he was escaping the police (and the Disciplinary Committee) that really spiced up his birthday.

Dark took one look at Kyouya (by this point the spirit had fully anchored himself in Tsuna's body and could speak properly or take control) and grinned. Right before he did something that really had Tsuna questioning whether Dark was really straight or not.

Mostly because Dark actually kissed _Kyouya Hibari_ , one of the strongest BOYS in the area on the cheek and called him beautiful.

What the hell?

 _Later that night..._

Emiko wasn't the only one choking when she heard Tsuna's odd question.

"Mama, I thought you said Dark only liked girls?"

"He does, according to our records," said Nana smiling.

"Then why did he just kiss Hibari _Kyouya_ on the cheek before switching back?"

"And this Hibari is..." asked Daichi.

"The strongest and arguably most vicious _male_ my age," said Tsuna bluntly.

Emiko and Daichi choked hearing that.

Nana however smiled.

"Just because you look like a no-good doesn't mean you are, Tsu-kun," said Nana cryptically.

Tsuna blinked, before he stared at his mother. Then it hit him what she was talking about.

He started laughing.

"That is ridiculous. Which hospital?"

"Not until later. It's better if the uproar over Dark's reappearance died down a bit first," said Nana.

"I'm back! Happy birthday, Tsuna!" said Daisuke. He eyed the outfit oddly. "What's with the costume?"

"Apparently stealing runs in the family. Check it out," said Tsuna, and Daisuke gaped.

"That was you?!"

"Come on Dai, you really think _half_ of the things in your basement was acquired legally?" laughed Tsuna.

Daisuke groaned at the reminder. He didn't like half the nonsense his mother and grandfather insisted he train in.

Unlike Tsuna, he never really took the whole trapped house deal in stride. Or had the sense to fix it so that he fell into a makeshift hammock rather than a net when he wanted to sleep in and his mother wouldn't let him.

(Tsuna had long since gotten used to his mother's idea of waking her reluctant son up. As such he switched the net with a hammock that had pillows and a blanket, along with an alarm clock so he didn't sleep in too late...though usually he took the fact he was almost certain to be "bitten to death" by Hibari as a given on those days.)

It was on the lips of everyone in class for the entire week. The "Return of Phantom Dark". Of course Hibari had been in a right mood ever since the thief made good on his warning and stole the painting.

There were piles of people he had "bitten to death" for getting on his nerves all over, and the hospital had actually sent someone to try and placate the irate teen. What he was so pissed about, no one was entirely certain off.

Tsuna knew, but he wasn't entirely suicidal.

Besides, he had to keep playing up the "clumsy, stupid no-good Tsuna" disguise his mother insisted on.

* * *

 _In the Reception Room..._

"Damn you Dark. I _will_ bite you to death for that stunt!" snarled Hibari.

It was bad enough that stupid omnivore managed to escape, but to actually have the balls to kiss them like that and fly off...

Hibari was going to make Dark pay and pay dearly for that stunt.


	2. Chapter 2

Tsuna was doing something he normally wouldn't.

He was breaking into the hospital and government offices to confirm something his mother had hinted at, but didn't say outright.

He had been told, repeatedly, that Dark was as straight as an arrow though he would flirt with some of the more attractive males after him to throw them off their game.

So why exactly did Dark react like that to _Hibari_ of all people?

Armed with Hibari's birth date and the general hospital where the birth took place, Tsuna broke in and looked for the appropriate files.

He hit paydirt an hour in, though what he found had him staring in some shock.

In his hands was the birth records and original certificate to the only people under the name Hibari, including the family crest.

Except it wasn't for a "Hibari Kyouya".

It was for a "Hibari Kiyohime".

A girl who's birthday coincided with Kyouya's almost exactly, right down to the parents.

Oh. This explained why Dark had targeted Hibari-san so fast, and why he actually kissed "him". Which really begged the question why Hibari was hiding her real gender.

He stole the original records, before heading into the building that had the family register.

Someone had clearly been there before him, because the records all claimed that a "Hibari Kyouya" was the only child. Like he couldn't recognize an alteration.

The digital records were even more damning...whoever fixed them had forgotten to erase their tracks, and the computer came from the school.

Tsuna grinned. Now Dark's actions made far more sense. He had known Hibari-san was a girl before his partner did.

Well, far be it for Tsuna to strip away Hibari's little secret. Not only was such a thing suicidal, depending on how and when it was done, but it would also bring into question HOW Tsuna found out.

Besides, it meant he had the perfect blackmail in the event Hibari ever caught him, holding the original birth certificate over the prefect's head. Tsuna also wasn't stupid enough to leave such damning evidence in his own home, where the teen might be able to storm the place and find it.

Instead he made a quick trip to visit his grandfather and aunt, before hiding it behind one of the many, many paintings that were hanging around their basement.

They certainly found it highly amusing.

* * *

"I was afraid of this," sighed Nana.

Unlike Emiko, they didn't live in a area where high-class museums were, which meant the thefts dried up even when they paced out their stealing.

On an unrelated note, Hibari had become so enraged with the fact Dark was openly flirting with her that she declared she'd "hunt the annoying omnivore to the ends of the Earth" just to kick his ass.

Tsuna snickered.

"It was inevitable, Mama. On an unrelated note, why don't we put Hibari-chan's declaration to the test and see if she really would give us a chase?"

Nana blinked, before a sly smile came upon her face.

"I suppose it couldn't be helped. It was inevitable that the Great Phantom Thief would become bored in this quaint town. But you're not getting out of your homework, young man," said Nana.

Tsuna pouted, before an idea occurred to him.

"What if we used the idiot as a cover for my absences?"

Nana blinked.

"What?"

"We could claim that the idiot wants to spend time with his teenage son, since I'm finally 'becoming a man' or some such nonsense. It's not like anyone actually cares about me in that school, and it'll bring Dark's fame to an international level!" said Tsuna grinning.

Nana stared at him... but then she smiled.

"And what about your education?" she asked, her aura dangerous.

Tsuna grinned and brought out his laptop.

"I already enrolled in an online college Mama. You know that school is really boring for me," said Tsuna.

"Well, as long as you keep up your studies and remember to visit..."

"Besides, this way I can find out if Hibari-chan actually meant what she said about chasing Dark to the ends of the earth because he's been flirting with her," said Tsuna laughing.

Nana grinned. What Tsuna _didn't_ know was that Dark had the most unusual habit of finding his partner's best match. His sacred maiden often became theirs by the time Dark disappeared. He was the family match maker, one who stole hearts and brought mystery back into the world.

Of course it would spoil all the fun if Nana told Tsuna that. She wanted to see her son stumble through his teenage love life, as every other mother did.

"Are you going to take Wiz with you?" asked Nana.

Wiz was Dark's permanent companion after all, and the source of his wings.

"I would, but he likes Daisuke more. And I don't really need his help to fly," said Tsuna.

"Don't need his..." started Nana, before she stared.

There were a pair of brilliant wings like fire on her son's back, almost like a phoenix. While the primary color was a vivid orange, the rest of it tapered off into a rainbow of colors, looking very much like the setting sun. It was quite beautiful to look at.

"Wha..."

Tsuna snickered at his mother's expression.

"Dark said I have a higher affinity for magic, so I can gain my wings a lot earlier than Daisuke will when he emerges. That and he said my 'fire' affinity was made for flying, so I won't need Wiz to evade capture," said Tsuna grinning.

"Sugoi, Tsu-kun! Your grandpa is going to be so proud! He didn't get his wings until he was at least sixteen!" said Nana happily.

"So Mama... can Dark and I take his thieving international?"

"Can you wait until summer? I'm sure your grandpa will have a lot of things to teach you about sealing solo, and let's not forget Dark-kun~!" said Nana happily.

Tsuna could agree to that. Summer was only two months away, and they could do some minor thefts in the nearby towns to keep Dark's reputation up.

* * *

 _The weekend..._

Emiko and Daichi stared at the magnificent wings on Tsuna's back. While they weren't the traditional red color that came out of the Niwa males when they manifest the wings on their own, they were still the same ones.

Daichi sagged in his chair.

"I had a feeling this could happen. That blasted seal could have ruined things if he we hadn't removed it so soon," said Daichi.

"Father, you knew about this?" asked Nana.

"Tsuna awoke first, so he inherited most of Dark's abilities. However unlike Daisuke he has a much higher affinity for our clan's magic. In fact it's almost on par with Dark himself, though it seems to be missing something. As for his wings... well, I suspected this would happen once Dark awakened. After all, Tsuna has Flames."

"Flames?" repeated Nana.

"The underworld calls them Dying Will Flames, but they are much older than their little clans. In fact our line can be traced back to the origin of one of them. They call themselves the Vongola, of course it could be different now."

"Vongola?"

Daichi settled in. Daisuke was out with his friends for several hours. Besides, this wouldn't concern him unless he awakened his Flame as well, which wasn't likely at this stage.

"A few decades before Dark and Krad were created, a man called Giotto Vongola created a group of vigilantes to fight off the corrupt Italian regime. Though it was never properly recorded, at some point he took his five Guardians and moved here to Japan, where he had two sons. One returned in the mafia and attempted to claim his birthright, but was overpowered. He was allowed to live because of his heritage, but from then on one son of the 'Primo' remained in the familigia."

"And the other?" asked Tsuna. He didn't often get to hear the history of the clan, since his mother really didn't care much about it.

"Remained in Japan, where he married one of the maidens of the Niwa clan. His bloodline is the reason why we can use magic in the first place, though it also comes with Flames. There are seven types of Flames, though their effects were never fully recorded. What is known is that the 'orange' flame is considered a leader of sorts among the other six, while the indigo and violet are the Flames that are most often awakened among the Niwa. It is because of this heritage that Tsuna has the ability to manifest his wings so early. Orange in particular has the ability to fly, though in your case it manifested as Dark's wings."

Nana gasped.

"So if I hadn't brought him here early on..."

"It could have proved disastrous when Dark awakened in him and could have possibly killed him. That seal would have tried to keep Dark from manifesting, and the strain could have proved too much. The best case scenario would have been Dark skipped over Tsuna in favor of Daisuke, though he would have been gravely wounded in his soul if that were the case."

Nana sagged in relief. Thank the gods she had the sense to call on her family to check her son. Though now that she knew what danger Tsuna had been in because of her fool husband, there was no way in hell she was going to let this go.

"Father, do you know any divorce lawyers? Good ones I mean?" asked Nana angrily.

Daichi sighed. It was about time Nana took control of her life, and perhaps this time she would find a better man...though odds were she would have to look in the underworld for a proper husband, since it was unlikely a civilian would be able to handle their lifestyle.

Besides, that idiot needed the wake up call.

"So what happened to the Vongola? I mean if the first son didn't regain control of the family then who did?" asked Tsuna.

"When Giotto, who went by the name Ieyasu after he moved to Namimori, left the Vongola he did so by leaving it to his much more violent cousin Ricardo. I believe the family has been in the control of Ricardo's bloodline ever since, though odds are you'll find one of Giotto's descendants still in the mafia," said Daichi seriously. "I have also heard rumors that the Vongola succession is determined by a set of rings split in two. One is in control of CEDEF, their supposed intelligence division... while the other is in control of the main family."

 _Dark?_

 _'Yeah, partner?'_

 _When we take this international I want to steal those rings back. They have no right to them. Plus imagine the reputation we'd get if we pulled it off._

Dark laughed in his head, already anticipating the sheer chaos to be had from such a plan.

"So grandpa, aunt Emiko... how would you feel if we took Dark's reputation and made it go international?" asked Tsuna with a mischievous grin.

The two blinked.

"International?" repeated Emiko. Her eyes were already glistening at such an idea.

Dark had a reputation in Japan, but that was about it. Spreading it beyond the borders of the island nation meant bigger challenges and even more fame for the Phantom Thief. Plus it meant Dark would never be stuck waiting for famous pieces to be displayed, since he could simply go to them instead.

"I don't see why not. Except you need to remember that things are a bit different in the outside world. And we'll need to get you brushed up on your languages. Dark can only speak the language you yourself would know," said Daichi, rubbing his beard.

"And if he only spoke Japanese, it would be simple to look for a Japanese tourist," said Tsuna, catching on. "Well I know some German, and I'm reasonably good at English and Italian..."

"If you wish to spread Dark's name in other countries, then we shall have to improve upon what you already know. By the time summer comes you will be fluent in at least _six_ languages," said Daichi. "Otherwise you will have to wait a year and undergo extra training."

It was a very difficult goal for a teenager, but Tsuna had all the motivation he would ever need. After all, it wasn't like he had an actual social life and he didn't have friends to speak of. The only ones who would miss him if he disappeared were his mother's family and oddly enough Hibari-san. If only because of their little game.

Tsuna grinned. He wondered if Hibari would chase Dark across countries like she threatened to do once, if he tried to leave Japan to escape her. It would be hilarious if she really did.

* * *

Dark looked at the cranky Hibari-chan (or as he liked to jokingly call her, Tori-chan since her name meant "Skylark") and grinned.

"Omnivore, for disturbing the peace I will bite you to death," said Hibari, eyes glinting with power.

Dark smirked.

"Better get your licks in now, little birdy, cause when summer comes I'm taking my show to the mainland," said Dark.

Hibari paused in her charge. She looked very pissed off for some reason.

"What."

"You heard me. This town has almost nothing of interest to me, so I'm going to try my luck on the mainland," said Dark. He could see the hurt in her eyes, so he quickly clarified what he meant. "Like I said, this town has _almost_ nothing of interest."

It took a few seconds for Hibari to catch on to what he meant. If she were anyone else she might have blushed.

"Oh? Then I suppose I will have to hunt you down then," said Hibari, eyes challenging. She had already conquered the town and the weak herbivores in it. So long as she came home enough to keep her grade point average up, there was no reason she couldn't chase Dark down to the ends of the Earth.

It had become a game between them, after all.

Dark winked at her, before blowing a kiss in her direction.

He normally only had the Hikari clan to play with, and that got boring even when Krad was added into the equation. Having this little Skylark chase him down was sure to make the next few years much more interesting indeed.

At least he wouldn't be completely bored.

Hibari, on the other hand had some arrangements to make. If Dark was going to try his luck thieving in the mainland, then she would need to brush up on her languages.

After all, it wouldn't do for her most interesting toy to slip away from her _that_ easily.


	3. Chapter 3

Dark quickly started gaining a reputation in the underworld. Everyone who saw him automatically assumed he was a "Cloudy Mist", and a flamboyant one at that.

Something to do with his hair and eye color, and the fact he had actual wings.

Tsuna was just glad his mother agreed to register him as an 'student abroad' for six months, though he would be visiting home to watch Daisuke's first awakening. It wouldn't do for his baby cousin to get caught because he was thrown off by the sudden transformation. At least until Dark fully bonded with him.

After that it was up to the ancient spirit to handle keeping Daisuke out of too much trouble.

Within the first two weeks of being a thief abroad, Dark realized something.

He wasn't so bored anymore.

There were so many new sights to see, so many things to try out that he was always in a good mood regardless of what was happening.

During the third week, he even saw a familiar and welcome face.

"Little bird~!" he said grinning.

"I will bite you to death, annoying omnivore," said Hibari smirking. She was clearly happy to see him as well.

Dark laughed and evaded the annoyed teen with ease. He did manage to steal a kiss from her, to her anger.

Totally worth the lump she gave him for the affront.

It hadn't taken much for the mafioso to start offering him jobs. Or for Hibari to catch on and become determined to make his life much more interesting whenever and wherever possible.

* * *

Tsuna was on a mission. One that he knew _would_ end with him very, very dead if caught. This was nothing like his normal thievery... it was a matter of personal pride.

That, and if they pulled it off they'd be damn near infamous among the mafia. Everybody feared the Vongola, so the idea of someone stealing something this important from the familigia was considered suicide.

He had already found out where the rings were. The problem was getting to them.

The thing he didn't get was why it was so easy to infiltrate the mansion that housed the familigia. It was almost too easy, considering they were one of the most feared families in the world. Were they really so overconfident as to let a complete unknown come in to work menial jobs?

If there was one thing Tsuna knew better than most, it was that no one ever watched the janitor when things were calm. It was the perfect way to case a place down to the last inch. It was pathetically easy to slip around unnoticed. Wigs were so much more reliable than hair dye, and contacts were indispensable.

One thing he learned was that the people of the main house liked to talk. A lot. It was far too easy to get them to talk about things they shouldn't. They were so confident no one would dare attack the family directly that they were positively lax when it came to security.

Hearing the story of the "fourth" son that had attacked a few years earlier, Tsuna hit upon an idea that could really stir up some trouble. And make him a _lot_ of money, if he did this right.

Now, to put things into place.

* * *

 _Two weeks later..._

Vongola Nono looked at the "advanced notice" with some amusement. That amusement was tempered with the hard gaze of an experienced mafioso.

He didn't know what this "Phantom Dark" wanted with that old painting, and he didn't care. He wasn't about to let some young upstart rob the Vongola family so easily. Such a thing implied weakness.

 _'I will steal the Frozen Prince at midnight. ~Phantom Dark'_

Nono had the painting known as the Frozen Prince moved deeper into the house, behind enough security to make even the cops jealous. If Dark wanted to steal it, then he was going to have to work for it.

On the plus side, at least he had some entertainment for the night. All the information Lal Mirch forwarded about "Phantom Dark" said that he was an honorable man, one that relied more on tricks and deception, rather than anything that could seriously injured the defenders of what he was stealing.

He had zero confirmed kills.

Though he had to wonder what it was that drove a strictly Japanese thief to Italy of all places.

* * *

 _Tsuna POV_

Paying Mammon of the Varia to help had been a complete nightmare. Thank god that idiot didn't recognize him when he picked his pocket. It would serve that man right for what he pulled when Tsuna was five.

The irony was that the Vongola had no idea what his actual target was. They thought he was after some tacky painting that wouldn't be worth much even on the black market.

"Mu. Remember our deal brat. I successfully distract the Vongola and you pay me double," said Mammon. They hated Nono, so any chance to screw him over or make a dent to his reputation was worth it.

Tsuna nodded.

"It's almost time."

"Why do you want that tacky painting anyway? It's barely worth a few million."

Tsuna's grin was wide.

"Just be ready to hide me and the 'thing' I'm after and everything will be explained," said Tsuna. He looked at his watch. It was time. "Ready?"

Mammon said nothing. It took very little doing to create an image of Phantom Dark flying on the horizon, hidden by the new moon. Tsuna went inside, and waited for "Dark" to be seen as he landed. He was technically on break, and everyone knew he was only sticking around to see "Dark" in action.

Tsuna walked into the room with the rings, and slipped past the defenses. A drop of blood opened the box, and he slid all seven rings around his neck while leaving convincing fakes in their place. No one would notice the difference for a long time, until they changed the leader.

That done and the rings securely hidden around his neck under the shirt, he went down to the basement level. He could already hear "Dark" getting past the defenses, and since everyone "knew" he was a Mist, no one was really surprised when they finally figured out he was an illusion...or when _multiple_ copies of the thief suddenly appeared.

Mammon was very expensive, but totally worth it.

Seeing the giant ice block, Tsuna smirked. He took out an orange feather and began chanting. He could already see chunks dropping and disappearing as he undid the seal.

Honestly, the Vongola were pathetic when it came to seals...this sort of seal would have broken in less than a decade if that!

Seeing the figure fall from the ice, Tsuna caught him before he made a sound. He took the "mist cloak" he paid Mammon for (which was why Mammon demanded double for such a simple job) and hide the man under it.

He witness Dark being chased off by the Vongola, who clearly thought themselves successful in getting rid of a rookie thief.

Tsuna didn't smirk. He waited until Dark was confirmed gone before he moved the unconscious man into his car and drove off.

Once he was far enough away, he met up with Mammon.

"Mu. You failed."

"I never said I was after a painting," countered Tsuna. He paid Mammon anyway.

"Then what was that about?"

"They had something that didn't belong to them, and after stumbling across 'that' there was no way I was going to leave the situation like it was. Honestly, the Vongola are complete idiots... I never thought someone would be stupid enough to use such a badly thought out seal on a human," said Tsuna in disgust.

Hearing something in the car, Mammon looked inside...the cloak shifted just enough that they almost fell to the ground in shock.

"You didn't steal a painting. You stole _him_."

Tsuna grinned at them.

"I dare say the Varia officially owe me one for successfully sneaking him out and breaking that poorly done seal. Of course if the Vongola found out what I actually did steal they'd definitely be pissed enough to hunt me down."

"Can you hide him?"

"I was planning to anyway. It's my cousin's big day in two days, so I'm going to ditch them after that anyway. Frankly I'm appalled at how easy it was to infiltrate the place... I've robbed _banks_ that had better security," said Tsuna.

Needless to say the Vongola didn't get the reference when Dark happened to leave a notice on their front gate claiming he had successfully stolen the "Frozen Prince".

* * *

Dark was in Florence to check on the 'frozen prince' and see how he was recovering.

"You're not the one who broke me out of the ice," said Xanxus bluntly, glaring at him. His eyes were a fierce blood red and he had the aura of a pissed off dragon.

"The one who did the actual deed was my partner," said Dark smoothly, in accented Italian. "In case you haven't noticed, purple is rather _distinctive_ when it comes to the cops. Though their security was pathetic."

"Tch. At least you're not trash like most," said Xanxus.

"Personally I wish I could have seen their faces when they find out what I actually took from the mansion," said Dark amused, his eyes glinting.

He had hidden the half-rings someplace safe, though getting them home was going to be a pain in the ass. The last thing he needed was for someone to _recognize_ the damn things.

"Fucking old man probably won't get it until I'm walking around again," said Xanxus.

"You kidding? If their security was a joke, then CEDEF is even worse. I'm sure I could rob the place and waltz right out with no one the wiser," said Dark. "Hell, I walked past the moron _leading_ it and he didn't even realize I picked his pocket. Though he might since I used his credit card to pay your tiny Mist."

"So that's where you got the money," said Mammon. There was a vicious smirk on their face.

"Well yeah, the idiot totally had it coming," said Dark dismissively.

Xanxus snorted derisively. Idiot didn't even _begin_ to cover what a fool Iemitsu was. He looked at Squalo.

"Shitty shark."

"Got it boss," said Squalo. He tossed two items to Dark.

"What's this?"

"Consider it a 'thank you' for freeing the Boss, darling~!" said the flamboyant man with green hair. "One for you and your partner. If not for you he'd still be in the ice."

"It's an almost unlimited favor from the Boss and the Varia," said Squalo. "So long as it doesn't go against the Vongola as a whole, you can use it for damn near anything. But it's a one-time deal for you and your partner. If you want another one you'll have to save his ass again."

"Which is about as likely as the idiot who runs CEDEF actually becoming competent. So, never," said Dark cheerfully.

Hearing the collective snort from the assembled Varia Elite, that was one they agreed with completely.

Still, a free favor from the Varia was nothing to sniff at. Dark cheerfully put the items away in his pocket.

"Trash. If you ever get tired of just stealing and want a real job, give us a call. We could use a decent Cloud officer," said Xanxus before he left the room.

"I'll keep that in mind, however unlikely that is to happen," said Dark neutrally. He didn't like killing.

* * *

"Wao. Omnivore."

"Little bird," said Dark cheerfully. Hibari always brightened up when she saw him. "I'm heading back to Japan for a bit. Want to hitch a ride back home for a bit?"

Hibari smirked.

"As if you had to ask, omnivore," said Hibari.

Dark hid a grin when Hibari leaned against him, having deemed him "acceptable" as a pillow.

If he switched back now, there was no doubt there would be a _lot_ of interesting questions for Tsuna.

But where was the fun in revealing things this early anyway?

By the time they set down in Japan, Dark grinned as he stole a kiss from the half-asleep Skylark. Hearing her growl amused him and tided him over as he managed to fly away to where the Niwas lived. He could visit his 'mother' once Daisuke awakened to his full heritage.

 _In the Niwa home..._

"Tsu-kun! How lovely to see you dear."

"Is grandpa home?" asked Tsuna.

Daichi greeted his oldest grandson warmly, though he blinked when he felt the hard bumps around Tsuna's neck.

"Remember what you told me about the 'rings' the Vongola had?" said Tsuna sheepishly.

"No," said Daichi in amazement... watching as Tsuna calmly pulled out half of the rings from around his neck. "How?"

"Their security was a joke. I set up an advanced notice and not only stole the rings, but liberated someone under a rather half-assed seal that was falling apart anyway. On an unrelated note, their independent assassination unit now owes me _two_ almost unlimited favors so long as it doesn't endanger the Vongola as a whole. I literally walked right in during the heist and stole the rings without even an alarm going off... all they had protecting it was a very weak blood seal," said Tsuna. He looked openly disgusted. "And with how bad their security is I bet I could walk right off with the other halves and no one would notice anything until they went to hand them over to the next boss."

Daichi's eyes glinted.

"Then I supposed it's a good thing we know how to liberate such underappreciated pieces, isn't it, Tsu-kun?"

"Dark was laughing his ass off after, by the way. I honestly can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out that the second sons of Giotto reclaimed their birthright from right under their noses."

Daichi laughed long and hard at the idea.


	4. Chapter 4

"Tsuna! When did you get back?" asked Daisuke in surprise.

"You didn't honestly think I'd miss your birthday, did you?" asked Tsuna.

Daisuke blushed. Tsuna grinned when he noticed the letter.

"Good luck, little brother. You're going to need it," said Tsuna.

The two of them were quite close, and while they were first cousins Tsuna and Daisuke had always considered each other brothers. Obviously, Tsuna was the older brother since he was born first.

"He is so going to be in for a shock," snickered Tsuna.

"Until then, why don't you catch us up on how Europe is doing?" asked Daichi. He almost never left town. Never mind the island.

Tsuna grinned.

"Well first off, it seems that the mafia has decided they own a monopoly on all Dying Will Flame users..." started Tsuna.

The more Daichi heard, the larger his frown.

"So the underworld had fallen even deeper into darkness. I had no idea things had gotten so bad since Giotto left. It seems your trip was more necessary than I thought," sighed Daichi.

"Father?"

"What do Phantom Thieves do, beyond sealing dangerous artwork and confound the police?"

"We bring hope. We bring mystery and light to those who have given up," said Tsuna. He had seen the way the children lit up in the slums, eagerly recounting the story of how Dark had performed another theft against the mafia familigias. People too scary and powerful for ordinary men to fight against.

It didn't hurt that he stole pieces for their monetary value...only to hand out money to the slums for those who really needed it. The poor and those who had been cast out from the proper mafia families for something they had no control over (mostly bastards sons or daughters) were singing the praises of Phantom Dark, because he was someone who allowed them to do something more than just live another day.

Daichi nodded.

"Indeed. It seems that your trip to Europe couldn't have come at a better time. Perhaps it is fitting that you are the descendant of the first and second son of Giotto. If anyone could bring the underworld back from pit it has become, it would be you and Phantom Dark."

"What?!"

"Nana's husband is the descendant of the first son that was lost to the Vongola. Which means you are twice worthy of the titles that they hold, rather than the old fool who holds the throne now."

Tsuna made a face.

"Ugh. I wonder if Xanxus would be offended if I used one of the favors he owes me to clean house before I forcibly reclaim it..." muttered Tsuna.

"From what I've heard of the boy, he'd probably be more amused than anything," said Daichi. "He would make a better Niwa than a Vongola... _we_ would never have sealed him away because of an argument that got out of hand."

"Why do you think I broke him out with misdirection?" said Tsuna grinning. "I still wish I could have been there when they find out I meant Xanxus, instead of that tacky painting."

Daichi laughed. Hearing the door open, the trio grinned. Daisuke had no idea what he was in for today.

Seeing the downcast look on his face, Tsuna gave him a hug.

"Cheer up, little brother. Today is your day... big changes are going to happen and it's only going to be for the better."

There was a shocked shout, and Daisuke...as Dark...came storming down the stairs.

"MOM! What's going on?!"

"Congrats little brother, you've awakened!" said Tsuna cheerfully.

Daisuke stared at him.

"What do you mean awakened?" said Daisuke. Tsuna let out his wings. He stared.

"Our family is a bit more odd than you might think, Daisuke. Whenever a boy from the main line turns fourteen, he undergoes a transformation and awakens as Phantom Dark. It comes with a guardian spirit that will protect you until you're old enough to protect yourself from those that would harm us... like the Hikari clan for instance. And don't worry, the transformation isn't permanent. You just have to find the trigger to switch it back," said Tsuna grinning.

"...I'm not going to grow wings am I?" asked Daisuke, calming down a bit.

"No, Tsuna's affinity for the family magic is higher than yours. He unlocked that ability early. You still have a bit of growing to do before you no longer need Wiz as a crutch to fly," said Daichi.

"I can train you to fly later, little brother. Just remember Wiz can only use his wings if you're in that form, otherwise you'll just crash," said Tsuna.

"Now we need to get you ready! This is your big debut as Dark!" said Emiko excitedly.

"It might be best if after Daisuke steals the Sacred Maiden, I made sure the cops saw me fly around as well. Otherwise there might be misunderstandings from Europe," said Tsuna.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Emiko.

Tsuna brandished a case.

"Just a little alteration. If people see Daisuke with red eyes as opposed to Dark's purple, then they'll just assume nearly identical twins and hopefully leave him alone later."

"Or you could each wear one contact in opposite sides. I suppose having people get used to twins wouldn't be such a bad thing," said Daichi.

Because the mafia and media would assume that Dark didn't want competition from his "twin brother" so the two worked separately.

"Which reminds me. Once you get used to sharing headspace with Dark, I am so dragging you to Mafia Land. It has this awesome obstacle course to play with, and the guy who runs it is a total riot."

Colonello had been shocked that someone actually WANTED to play with his obstacle course and completely trashed the current records. Last time he saw the Rain Arcobaleno, the man was revamping his course to make it more "fun".

And by fun, one had to mean the addition of lasers, automated crocodiles and other 'fun' things that Tsuna had grown up with. Colonello had loved him for it... the trainees however were cursing Tsuna's name for giving Colonello ideas.

Especially the silver haired bomber he saw. Tsuna had laughed outright at some of his insults.

 _Later that night..._

"Oh gods..."

Tsuna was howling, there was no other word for it.

"Shut up! Why didn't you warn me about..." said Daisuke flushing.

"How is it _my_ fault you ended up falling for _twins_?" said Tsuna, holding on to the wall, cracking up.

"Well who are your triggers?"

"The class idol for me, and a girl who's pretending to be a guy for Dark," said Tsuna without hesitation.

Though he had to admit, Hibari was looking a hell of a lot more interesting than Kyoko Sasegawa. It could be because Hibari kept chasing after him or perhaps there was something to the whole "flame" thing. Either way, the two were being drawn together every time they were in close enough proximity to each other.

Daisuke was grumbling for weeks after his birthday. But he had to admit, Tsuna was right about one thing.

His life had changed for the better.

Tsuna blinked and stared at the Arcobaleno in front of him.

"What does the Eye of the Storm want with me? If you wanted something stolen I could only assume you'd be able to retrieve it yourself, unless there were size issues," he said slowly.

Fon's smile didn't really 'shift', persay, but he definitely took a more interested notice of Tsuna.

"I was just curious as to what sort of Sky my niece has taken an interest in."

"You know I had the feeling you were related to Hibari-san, but I didn't know it was that close. And what do you mean Sky?"

Fon blinked.

"You don't know?"

"The reason the mafia hasn't come after my ass is because I don't know how to use my Flames. I know I'm considered 'active', but we didn't have any way of training them," said Tsuna flatly.

Fon stared.

"That... explains much actually. Let's start with how much you do know, and I will determine if you are a good match for Kyouya."

Tsuna took them someplace a little less...public, just to be sure.

"First what do you know of Dying Will Flames?"

"Just that orange is the most annoying one, since it draws the others like catnip. Part of the reason I never bothered to train it... the second people find out I have they're going to be after me more than usual."

"A wise precaution, especially without the proper teachers. Though yours seems to be slightly trained already."

Tsuna seemed to be internally debating something, though in reality he was running it past Dark.

Having a second, older and wiser guardian spirit in your head was dead useful at times. Especially during your awkward teenage years if you were willing to listen.

"I have an idea why, but I would need to know if I could trust you," said Tsuna. "Because revealing this would impact Hibari a bit earlier than I was hoping."

Fon's face went blank.

"You have my word, on my honor, that I will not repeat what I see, hear or realize outside these walls."

He wasn't quite willing to invoke Omerta, because the boy wasn't likely to understand the implications of it.

Tsuna however was satisfied with that answer.

He let out his wings.

"My name is Tsunayoshi Niwa, though I also go by Phantom Dark. I would use my father's surname, except we prefer to pretend that idiot doesn't exist."

Fon nodded, absolutely fascinated. Then what Tsuna said hit him and his grin widened.

"Phantom Dark, as in the same thief the little Skylark has become so fascinated with of late?"

"Now you see why I didn't want this getting out so soon. She's liable to kill me when she finds out one of the 'herbivores' not only knows her secret, but has been openly flirting with her for the better part of a few months."

Fon laughed outright at that. He wasn't wrong.

"And the wings?"

Tsuna grinned outright.

"I'm the descendant of the second son of Giotto Vongola. He married into a family of phantom thieves and ended up having children of his own. Unlike the first son, he wasn't stupid enough to try and reclaim something he didn't have the power to take back. Since then all the descendants of the first son had been tied to the Vongola, while the second laid in wait, patiently binding their time and getting stronger. Though according to my grandfather I have the blood of both in me. The wings are a...side effect...of an awakening the second sons go through at fourteen."

All true without giving anything important away. Fon approved of his caution.

Fon examined Tsuna's wings with interest. He could clearly feel Sky Flames emanating from them, steady and strong and clearly solid. It was fascinating.

There were all the other colors, though orange and violet seemed to be the predominant. The violet had five 'layers' of feathers, while the rest only had one or two. He could only assume that meant the boy had a Sky primary and a Cloud secondary.

"What can you do with these?"

"Well fly, obviously...but if I concentrate I can also do this," said Tsuna. The wing on the opposite side of Fon _flexed_ , and with a half beat sent daggers made of feathers into the wall.

"Fascinating," said Fon. He picked one of the feathers up... it felt solid and radiated Sky flames.

"Dead useful for throwing off other Flame Users too. They chase after the feathers and allow me to evade their pursuit. So long as my wings are out, the feathers seem to share a similar amount of Flame until the wings disappear, by which time they vanish as well."

"How many Guardians do you have?" asked Fon seriously.

"Guardians?" repeated Tsuna, baffled. "The only 'guardian' I have is Dark, and he shares head space with me."

"So none then, other than the tentative bond with Kyouya. How much do you know about Dying Will Flames in particular?" asked Fon.

"Not a lot. There weren't that many records of Flames in our clan archives, and we keep damn near everything. The only restricted books are those too dangerous to be used in the first place, and the rest we're allowed to read once we're mentally mature enough."

Fon nodded to himself. While the boy was partially trained, it was clear he didn't know enough.

"Are you going to continue working in Europe?"

"I've been systematically helping the slums whenever I rob for monetary gain. In case you haven't noticed, the mafia has a bad habit of abandoning people who's use is up," said Tsuna flatly. "So yes, unless circumstances warrant my return to Japan."

"In that case, I will properly educate you on Dying Will Flames and the bare basics. If only so my niece will have a proper Sky that will not use her or her gender against her. You at least seem trustworthy."

"Well... I am a thief and Dark is a thief of hearts," admitted Tsuna.

Fon smiled at him. Tsuna took one look at it and shuddered.

"I also have the sneaking suspicion that Dark gets bored enough to find the best match for his partner and ends up acting as matchmaker. Which considering what little I know about soul bonds means you likely won't have to worry about Hibari if we end up falling for each other..." said Tsuna quickly.

"Well it's not that unheard of for a Sky to end up falling for their Guardian. Especially if they're the opposite gender..." said Fon smiling.

It was good to know the boy wasn't that foolish to break his niece's heart and dump her. More specifically, the boy wasn't stupid enough to do so and expect Fon not to retaliate for it, now that he knew what he looked like without a disguise.


	5. Chapter 5

"Natsu! Glad to see you again!" said Colonello grinning. "I made those upgrades you suggested to the course... you're right, I was half-assing it before!"

Tsuna grinned, glad that his wig kept them from recognizing him later.

"How bad have they been cursing my name for giving you advice on how to make it better?" he asked. Colonello's evil grin said volumes. Tsuna laughed.

"YOU! You're that maniac who gave him ideas!" shouted one teen. He was about Tsuna's age. He looked pissed.

"Well yeah, his course was barely acceptable for rookies. I went through worse when I was _nine_ , and that was only when Mama was being lazy about setting the traps. You're that bomb specialist, right?"

"Gokudera Hayato, runaway and explosive enthusiast. Has big ambitions to be the right hand man of a don, though with his prospects it's more of a long shot than anything," said Colonello.

"He a latent or does he just not have any?"

"Latent Storm... Wait, how do you..."

"Fon explained it to me. I was aware of Flames before, just not the little details since our family didn't record as much as it probably should have. I'm Active, but not fully trained. I still have to find a proper teacher for that stupid thing...eventually. It's not like I use them in my heists anyway."

Colonello nodded. It explained a lot, actually. He could tell Natsu was active, but he still didn't know what Flame he had.

"Anyway, how exactly is he planning to become the right hand man of a mafia don? It's not like they'll take one look at him and say 'Oh, he's perfect for the job' and hire him on the spot. That sort of thing takes a lot of trust."

Hayato deflated, as that was a constant problem he kept running into. Most Dons already had a right hand man and none of them were willing to trust an untested "rookie". Especially not one with a temper like his.

Colonello looked between Natsu and Hayato, and grinned.

"Well what if he had a better reputation than just as a bomber?"

Hayato's head jerked up.

"What?"

Tsuna grinned at the silverette.

"Let me put it this way. Exactly how famous is Phantom Dark right now?"

"You know Phantom Dark? He's practically a legend and he's barely been active for a year!" said Hayato enthusiastically.

"I have to ask, did the Vongola ever figure out what Dark actually stole from them, or did someone have to point it out after the fact?" asked Tsuna to Colonello.

The Rain laughed his ass off.

"Lal was bitching about that when I last saw her! Everyone was so concerned about the painting that they never considered that the 'frozen prince' was actually the missing fourth son! Iemitsu was so pissed off when they figured it out! To say nothing of the fact that the Vongola lost face when Xanxus revealed Dark was the one who got him out of the mansion while everyone was distracted!"

The second word got out that Xanxus was back, it hadn't taken more than a few hours for Nono to confirm someone had deliberately released him from the ice. Which had him kicking himself, since he never considered that Dark would be after the missing son, and not some painting.

Considering _how_ Xanxus ended up indisposed really should have tipped him off.

"I heard Dark got two favors out of that deal from the Varia and a job offer," said Tsuna, grinning.

Hayato was clearly a Dark fan boy. The fact he was able to steal from the Vongola _and_ get away with it was HUGE. The Vongola were powerful, famous and everyone knew not to cross them.

Yet Phantom Dark had not only done it, but he had also earned the favor of the Varia Elite for his theft. If a relative newcomer could pull something like that off and earn such a major reputation, then it meant there was hope for someone like him too.

"Tell me Hayato...how would you like to work with Phantom Dark and get a reputation big enough that the familigias would actually give you a chance?" asked Tsuna seriously.

"Why would Dark even consider me? I'm a nobody."

"So are all big names when they start out. The real trick would be getting you used to the publicity. Dark has a habit of making headlines, after all."

Papers tended to have a boost in sales whenever Dark made his big splash. Sometimes Tsuna made a point of stealing from a certain area and allowing a single reporter to get a good picture of him to save failing newspapers. And the less said about how obsessively his mother and aunt collected any paper about Dark, especially with pictures, the better.

He sometimes had Dark pose in them for a laugh.

Hayato looked like he was seriously considering it.

"Look at it this way kid. You're seriously wasted as just another hit man. And with your temper and attitude you're more likely to end up in a gutter than actually get what you want out of life. I'd recommend taking Natsu up on his offer, though odds are you'd need a bit of training before you became Dark's assistant," said Colonello.

Hayato blinked. That was some high praise from Colonello.

"Besides, you remind me a lot of a kicked puppy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Hayato, temper flaring.

Tsuna chuckled.

"You have the loyalty of a good dog, but one that's been kicked and abandoned once too many. Which means you have trust issues on top of feelings of being too 'useless' to actually be a right hand man. You have confidence and I'm guessing skill, but you're too scared that it's not enough to win the approval of a familigia," said Tsuna bluntly. "You don't need a 'boss', you need a friend who's willing to stand by your side and say 'good job' and actually _mean_ it in order for your abilities to properly shine."

"Sounds more like he needs a proper Guardian bond with a worthy Sky to me," snarked Colonello.

Tsuna merely grinned. While he liked the Rain he didn't quite trust him with that tidbit just yet.

"So Hayato, how about we make an agreement. If you can get through that obstacle course that I helped Colonello upgrade and not come out looking like something the cat dragged in, I'll take you to meet Phantom Dark as his potential assistant. But you only have three days, sound fair?"

Hayato blinked, before he nodded. This was the biggest break he was ever likely to get and only an idiot would pass it up.

"Great! I'm off to play in the amusement park and satisfy my urges to keep stealing things from people who don't appreciate them."

Colonello snorted.

"Klepto. Just don't do it so much that I have to drag your ass back here for training."

Tsuna looked mock affronted.

"Why my dear Arcobaleno, whoever said I would allow them to catch me?" he shot back, winking.

Colonello was cracking up when Natsu left three days later, his new "puppy" (as the other boy insisted on calling him) in tow. It had taken all three of those days before Hayato figured out how to get past the traps without setting off all of them.

Mostly because he got to listen to big bad mafioso whine about having their pockets picked with no idea who did it. Anyone who could afford a vacation to Mafia Land was rich enough that the loss of their wallet wasn't going to impact them much, but their pride and ego had definitely taken a hit, which was why Colonello was so amused.

Besides, most of the people Natsu targeted were assholes that clearly deserved it.

* * *

Tsuna grinned as he took multiple pictures of Hayato actually _fainting_ the moment he revealed who Phantom Dark was. That was hilarious.

Once he woke up (courtesy of a bowl of cold water thrown to the face) he had so many questions.

Apparently Hayato was an enthusiast about the unknown, which Dark definitely qualified as. Any hesitation the teen had about acting as his partner died upon realizing that "guardian spirits" were very much real, which meant there was a high probability things like aliens existed too!

Dark just snorted with amusement at the kid's enthusiasm while answering any questioned he could.

"So basically you can shift between Dark and yourself, and there's no ill side effects?" said Hayato, taking notes with a gleam in his eyes.

"I can just tell you're going to get along great with my family," said Tsuna dryly. "How good is your Japanese?"

"It could be better, though I'm fluent enough to understand most," said Hayato.

"Which means we'll be working on getting you properly fluent before I have to return home for a bit. Now, on to our lessons. What is the _purpose_ of a Phantom Thief, and don't say it's to rob people. There are more examples than just Dark, after all."

Hayato was openly stumped.

"I have no idea," he said slumping. He looked upset, so was visibly surprised at the hug.

"I'll give you a hint then. What emotions did you feel when you heard that Dark successfully robbed the Vongola of a prisoner they had forgotten about and did it so publicly that they couldn't hide he was taken from them? After all, he was just a relative newcomer who hadn't really stepped foot outside of Japan until recently."

"Shock. Surprise. Joy. Hope," admitted Hayato.

"Exactly. How many people have long since given up hope of the unknown? Of the idea that magic could still exist even in this day and age? Where a relative newcomer could challenge someone like the Vongola and actually _succeed_?"

Hayato blinked.

"So...it's about hope?"

"That's what I like to think anyway. My grandpa certainly didn't dispute that Phantom Thieves bring hope and magic back into the world, even if the cops hate us. So long as we follow certain rules then there's no harm done."

"There are rules to being a phantom thief?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Unofficial ones anyway. One of the big ones is that we don't kill or directly harm others during a heist," said Tsuna. "The second is that if we have a chance to be flashy, then we're damn well allowed to be so long as we still have what we were after and it doesn't go against the first. It brings a lot of mystery and magic into the whole thing and confuses the hell out of the police in the process trying to replicate it."

"That and it's fun. So I could do actual fireworks to confuse the situation and it would be okay?"

"So long as it doesn't harm anyone and it makes people smile after, yeah. And you could use regular bombs to help Dark make an entrance or create a set demolition to help in escape while he distracts everyone. There were some heists were it would have been so much easier if I had a partner who took the item and disappeared while Dark kept everyone's eye on him. Mostly because it was too bulky or just too damn heavy to carry normally."

Hayato was openly grinning at the idea. It sounded like a lot more fun than just killing people.

"Another thing is that we tend to do disguises a lot. You might actually have it easy, since your hair is so light. Though I tend to prefer wigs since dying can do a lot of damage. I almost forgot... we also tend to attract rivals like you wouldn't believe, but as long as they aren't causing harm you should mostly aim to temporarily incapacitate them, rather than kill. I have one rival that should resolve itself once things really get going anyway, according to their family."

Fon made it clear once he came clean with Hibari, that odds were they would become his Cloud Guardian. Or she would end up killing him. Either way, the situation would be "resolved".

The fact he didn't try to stop Hibari from being so violent worked in his favor. He trusted her to do her own thing, but still have his back...like the time one family got cocky and tried to catch him (as Dark) and she happened to be in the vicinity.

The results...were not pretty. Once she realized what was going on she went on a rampage and allowed him get them out of the area before hitting Dark on the head for causing that much of a disturbance.

Totally worth it, according to Dark.

"What do they look like?"

"You'll know them when you see them. They'll threatened to bite you to death and will try to cave your head in with tonfas. Hibari is rather possessive of Dark, after all."

"Possessive as in..."

"Once they realize their feelings are romantic and not just platonic they might try to cave my head in when they find out who Dark actually is. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I highly suspect that our guardian spirit has a habit of playing matchmaker with his partners," said Tsuna amused.

Hayato snickered.

"So, let's figure out how to get you acclimated as the partner to a thief," said Tsuna cheerfully. "What skills do you have?"

Hayato was apparently a genius, but that was hindered by his temper. He was also very good at chemistry and made his own bombs, though he had something of a personal grudge with poisons thanks to his sister. He did know _how_ to drive, but he had no actual experience with it. He was fluent in at least four languages, and could use work on a fifth. He also played piano, or used to, but didn't because of the trauma his family caused by making him play erratically.

Out of his family, only his half sister Bianchi (who had a picture of) was likely to try and track him down to drag him home, regardless of whether he wanted to go or not.

He seemed positively thrilled to have someone actually listen to him, much less consider him worthy of someone so famous in the underworld as an equal partner.

Tsuna's mental comparison of a frequently kicked puppy only got worse after hearing why Hayato was trying so hard to become the right hand man of a mafia family.

It probably helped he didn't have pity on his face after hearing that story, even if he did extend an invitation for Hayato to stay at his home when they inevitably went to visit Tsuna's mother.


	6. Chapter 6

Nana took one look at Hayato and squealed. Especially when Tsuna insinuated that the slightly older teen was going to be a permanent house guest in the new future whenever he visited. She loved having children to spoil, and Hayato definitely needed it.

Hayato was very uncomfortable, but eventually calmed down.

"This is your mother?"

"Aunt Emiko is _almost_ worse," he replied. "Just be glad we're not stuck in one city, with a bunch of civilians in normal school."

Tsuna shuddered. The _only_ reason he had stuck around as long as he had, much less kept pretending to be normal was his daily 'meetings' with Hibari.

Speaking of Hibari...

Tsuna dodged the irate teen's tonfas, and was mentally cursing the Storm Arcobaleno.

"I am going to kill Fon for this. Or at least prank the shit out of him!" shouted Tsuna. Hibari's eyes grew even more bloodthirsty.

Good thing they were in a secluded area, far from anyone else. Not even Hibari's second-in-command was allowed near, and to be honest no one was suicidal enough to get in her way when she was in this mood.

"Wao. The annoying carnivore said you knew things about the omnivore. Explain now or I will gladly bite you to death."

"...I am seriously going to kill Fon for this," said Tsuna. "And I want your word that this doesn't reach anyone. I know you can keep a secret, and this is almost as important as the one you're hiding."

Hibari blinked at him.

"What secret?"

"I know about Kiyo."

Hibari froze. There was an intense bloodlust around them, as she was very pissed.

"What?" she demanded, almost ready to rip his throat out.

"I have the original documents to prove it. And you didn't hide your tracks as well as you like. Right now my mother suspects the truth, but never bothered to confirm it like I did."

"How?" demanded Hibari, clearly becoming stressed.

"Phantom Dark _never_ goes beyond flirting when it comes to boys. The fact he took such an open interest in you, enough to steal a kiss, made it pretty obvious you weren't an actual boy, but pretending to be," said Tsuna. "And before you ask, the original documents are not in my house. I'm not stupid."

Hibari glared at him.

Tsuna sighed.

"Look I could care less if you're a guy or a girl. You're still damn terrifying and you're still Phantom Dark's favorite rival, if only because of how much chaos you cause to the herbivores that annoy you. I'm not going to spread the truth around the school or town because it's honestly not my business. And from according to Fon you've been gravitating towards me for months since Dark went active."

Hibari's glare doubled.

"Who is Phantom Dark?"

"You keep my secret and yours will remain as such until you're ready to admit the truth," said Tsuna immediately.

"Deal," said Hibari.

Tsuna had an odd look on his face, before wings sprouted from his back. For a few blissful seconds, Hibari thought that was the secret he meant... right up until "Tsuna" became Dark.

"Hello angel. Miss me?"

Hibari stared.

"What the hell?!"

"To make a long story short I'll use the explanation Tsuna came up with for his cousin. Four hundred year old guardian spirit, family legacy, and the switch goes both ways with identical triggers," said Dark, listing it off his fingers. "As for the phantom thief thing, well, every family needs a proper specialty, right?"

Hibari stared.

"And the flirting?"

"Well the trigger is literally called the 'sacred maiden', though I disappear after a while," admitted Dark. "Why did you hide your gender anyway?"

Hibari scowled.

"Do you know how the older families treat girls, especially their heirs?" she asked.

Dark blinked. That...explained a lot.

"Ah. So your pride wouldn't allow you to be married off to some idiot you could beat anyway, so you hid as a boy to throw them off until you were strong enough to deal with anyone stupid enough to try and marry you?"

"The pint sized carnivore may be annoying, but he was very helpful," admitted Hibari.

"How about we work out a deal then. If and when your secret gets out, you can use me or Tsuna as a shield from the worst of it. After all, they can't marry you if you already have someone you're interested in with a distinguished bloodline, right?"

"Thieves would be barely acceptable."

"I wasn't talking about the phantom thief thing. That's a secret that's been kept for four hundred years after all. I'm talking about the other bloodline Tsuna has. Ask Fon about the Vongola and if the 'lost' heir would be acceptable as dating material. That way you get to keep the morons off your ass, Tsuna gets to keep his favorite rival, and if things work out you'll have a proper Sky to call your own. Even Fon commented that you were slowly drifting towards Tsuna for a while now."

Hibari considered it. This was a very good deal, because it meant that even if the lesser carnivores and pathetic herbivores found out her gender, then her family couldn't set her up with someone she would never tolerate. And as annoying as Dark could be, Tsuna was a decent challenge when he actually took things seriously. Even if she hated it when he tricked her into traps that took five minutes to get out of so he could escape.

If Dark and Tsuna were the same person (more or less), then at least she wouldn't be stuck with someone she would never accept, or worse, would insist she behave "like a proper lady" as her mother used to insinuate before everyone slowly forget Kiyo and just saw Kyouya.

"Hmph. Acceptable, omnivore. I suppose this means you'll want me to stop chasing you?"

"What gave you _that_ ridiculous idea? Do you have any idea how boring it is, having the same kind of rivals for centuries? You're the most interesting one I've had in far too long! Besides, the chaos you bring when you force the idiot cops to allow you in is far too much fun for me to want you to stop," said Dark without thinking.

Hibari's grin was vicious and more than slightly terrifying...for everyone except Dark and Tsuna.

"Wao. I find you acceptable, annoying omnivore. But if this works out I expect a _proper_ date from your other half when we're abroad."

Dark grinned.

"You have a deal, Kiyohime," said Dark, kissing the top of her right hand. Seeing the bloodthirsty girl blush, he couldn't help but cackle inwardly.

Considering her nature it was very unlikely Tsuna would ever be fully rid of him. Oh well, at least Tsuna was one of the most entertaining partners he had had in a very long time.

* * *

 _Two days later..._

Hibari was at the front door, and with her was Fon.

She was rather pleased about something.

"Remember the agreement, omnivore?" asked Hibari.

Tsuna didn't have to ask.

"I take it they agreed to the idea?" he asked Fon.

"Indeed. This neatly solves several 'problems' that would have arisen later once the Mist illusion that was used wore off. It was never meant to last permanently, and this way I know she is in good hands," said Fon serenely.

"Who are you friends, Tsu-kun?"

Hayato was doing his own doubletake at seeing Fon. He might not know much about the Storm, but he damn well recognized the pacifier.

"Mama, this is Hibari... you know, the one Dark took such a liking to," said Tsuna cryptically. "And this is their uncle, Fon. He's loosely affiliated in the underworld, though he's more of a freelancer among the Triads."

"Is it wise to discuss such topics?" asked Fon.

Nana's eyes flashed a bit.

"I took an interest when Father told me exactly what those Flames meant, and Tsuna would never hide anything from me. He might divert the topic, but he is at least honest with me. Which is far more than I could possibly say about Iemitsu," she said darkly. "I just wish the divorce lawyers didn't cost so much to hire."

Fon blinked.

"Iemitsu as in Iemitsu _Sawada_?" said Fon in open surprise.

"We don't talk about him in this house, and if he ever intends to come back we generally plan to be out of town without telling him. If he thinks we'll blindly accept that he sealed me when I was five after I activated my Flames, only to leave us alone for years at a time, then he's sorely mistaken. There's a reason Mama and I claim the Niwa name, rather than live with his," said Tsuna annoyed.

Fon could understand that, until what Tsuna said caught up with him.

"Wait... what do you mean he had you sealed at _five_?"

"I activated early, and just my luck Iemitsu was visiting with Vongola Nono at the time. I don't remember what was said, just that immediately after I felt like I was always freezing and that my brain felt like it was in cold syrup. It was bad to the point that even the teachers noticed something was wrong...so Mama took me to visit grandpa and aunt Emiko. Our family specializes in sealing, so they found the counter and got rid of it before any real damage could be done. And since Iemitsu never really stuck around for more than a few days after that, not visiting for years at a time..."

"Your mother decided to train you in their ways, and forget his."

"I identify with the second son more than the first."

While Tsuna and Fon talked, Hibari was terrifying Hayato and blinking confusedly at Nana. Like always, she took such oddities in stride. It didn't take long for Hibari to warm up to the woman, mostly because she started making hamburger steak for dinner.

"I see you've acquired a Storm."

"He's still inactive, though I have high hopes for him. Have you had any luck with that feather you took with you last time?" asked Tsuna.

"Yes, about that..." said Fon, pulling the familiar orange feather out.

Tsuna blinked.

"That's the first time I've seen it _linger_."

"I have a theory about that. But I'm not sure how to feel about it."

"Well it's not like we're chasing you out. Besides, the deal Dark made with Hibari benefits everyone, especially them," said Tsuna, picking up the tiny Storm and giving him a proper seat with a few extra cushions. There was no reason to treat him like a child when he wasn't one. Tsuna also got some fruit for the monkey. "You know I never asked, what is your monkey's name?"

"It's Lichi. He has a special preference for nuts and dried fruits," said Fon.

Tsuna nodded and pulled out some of the trail mixes his mother made. He liked eating them and they were easy to make and not have to worry about spoilage. He made sure to pour some in a bowl, and put it where Lichi could get to it. The monkey absolutely loved him for it. Fon had a content smile on his face.

"So what's you theory on why the feather lingers?"

"If you recall, I took five feathers with me. This is the only one I kept, and I've confirmed that three of the other five had already disappeared. They seem to have an unusual effect for the two that stuck around. I suspect that the feathers are a very unusual way of _detecting_ those who could possibly harmonize with you as Guardians."

Tsuna paused, and stared.

"What?"

"You've said yourself that you have an unusually high affinity for Flames and magic. It's possible you could draw in multiple sets of Guardians, as opposed to the single set most Skies draw in. I gave the other feather to a...colleague... of mine. One who has an interest in odd flames. He admitted he's been feeling more on an 'even keel', I suppose you could say, since he got that feather. I believe he made it into a bracelet of sorts."

Reborn had been surprised at the idea of solid flames, especially feathers...but after having it on his person for two weeks straight (mostly because Fon admitted he had his own feather for a full month straight with no ill effects) he noticed a major difference in his Flames. Namely that as long as the feather was on him, his Flames felt content. Happy.

Almost as if he had a proper Guardian bond with a Sky.

Naturally Reborn very much wanted to meet this Sky, if only to see if he could establish a proper bond. Fon had admitted that the boy didn't seem to be the sort that tried to force a bond like so many before him had.

"Ugh. I just hope this whole Guardian thing doesn't mean I have to quit stealing. It's about the only 'nice' job to be found in the mafia," said Tsuna.

"I have noticed a distinct lack of injury or death attributed to your heists. Though some are a bit..."

Tsuna grinned.

"Some of the unspoken rules of the great thieves are pretty much universal. No killing and if you want to be flashy, then by all means go for it so long as no one is directly harmed. Otherwise you'd be nothing more than a common thief, and _phantom_ thieves are meant to bring hope and mystery back into the world."

Fon blinked, before a smile came upon his face.

If his theory was correct, then he could live with sharing a Sky with his niece.

"Wait, you said there was a distinct lack of injury or death. Then why did I find several reports saying multiple cops had to go to the hospital after a heist?" asked Hayato.

"Which ones?" asked Tsuna. Hayato listed them, and Tsuna snorted. "That wasn't Dark. That was Hibari being Hibari and teaching the herbivores where they stood on the food chain."

He would swear Hibari preened hearing that comment. There was also a weird warmth that bloomed in his chest, but he ignored it.

Fon however, noticed the change immediately and snorted.

"I had a feeling once this matter was settled it would happen, but not that fast."

"Hmm?"

"You harmonized with Hibari," clarified Fon. "The fact you accept their bloodthirsty nature as a given and allow them free reign to challenge you was enough to get their Cloud and Mist Flames to accept you as their Sky. Which means you'll never be rid of each other, though you may want to stay close to one another until the bond settles properly."

"And since Hibari gets really antsy if they're away from Namimori for too long..." sighed Tsuna in exasperation.

"Boss?"

"It looks like we'll have plenty of time to train you as my assistant, since we're sticking around for a while. Hibari has claimed this area as their territory and they got increasingly erratic while they chased me around Europe for two months. It was a good thing I was heading to Japan when I did, because I really don't want to see what would happen if they had to give up their chosen territory," explained Tsuna.

Fon looked at Tsuna with open approval now.

"Any doubts I had about you just vanished," he said smiling. "The fact you understand Cloud instincts so well speaks favorably of you, as does your willingness to temporarily stop stealing for a while until the bond settles."

"Well I'm sure Mama has been really lonely without someone in the house, and Hayato really needs extra training before I can seriously call him my assistant. That and he needs to learn how to hotwire a car properly," teased Tsuna.

Hayato flushed.

"It was _one_ time!"

"And you managed to cross the wires just right to 'accidentally' blow up the car we were stealing. Face it, you need the lessons," said Tsuna. "And considering the majority of the Disciplinary Committee used to be delinquents... I'm sure they could teach you the basics of lock picking and stealing cars."

Fon hid a smile behind his sleeve. He could easily see himself harmonizing with this Sky...if he still could.

He would stay in Namimori for a while, just to make sure the bond was settling properly, before heading back to his job.


	7. Chapter 7

Tsuna barely withheld a groan.

He _hated_ public school. But at least this time he wasn't completely alone.

" _How can you stand it?"_ asked Hayato, grumpily in Italian. The only reason he wasn't busting out his weapons was because Tsuna confiscated them the first chance he had. If he wanted his bombs he would have to get them from the basement.

One look at that trap course had him reconsidering the idea.

" _Practice. Besides, no one ever suspects the klutz who can barely keep an acceptable grade average. It's usually the popular ones that everyone suspects first,"_ said Tsuna dryly.

Hayato considered that.

" _Yeah, I can see that. Wait, how did you..."_

" _Hayato, you've seen me on my laptop every night. What did you think I was doing, playing online video games? I'm this close to a college degree in computer sciences and I'm a well known black hat in the deep web,"_ said Tsuna...before his grin turned wicked. _"Besides, it would only take me an hour to hack their home WiFi and get my revenge."_

Hayato's grin was just as bad.

" _I so want in on that."_

Tsuna snickered at the idea.

"Are you two idiots done talking in weird languages? It's bad enough dame-Tsuna came back, but we don't want him corrupting the new guy too," complained one girl.

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

" _Now do you see why I avoided this place?"_

Hayato nodded. If the others were this annoying he couldn't blame his boss for ditching it the first chance he had. He was smarter than the entire class put together.

"Ahaha... I don't know, Niwa-kun seems a bit more competent than last year," said a voice.

Tsuna's eyebrows went up, and it showed his surprise.

Takeshi Yamamoto was actually standing up for him, which was unusual. He knew _of_ the baseball star, but nothing outside of vague rumors. The fact that the older teen was openly defending him was the source of his surprise.

Hayato seemed to be in agreement with Tsuna, because he was openly staring at Yamamoto.

"And you are...?" asked the silverette.

"Yamamoto Takeshi, son of man who owns the best sushi restaurant in town and noted baseball star. Though with the way he practices I suspect it's more because he honestly doesn't know what to do with his life at this point," said Tsuna bluntly.

Takeshi blinked, his smile cracking slightly before it returned to normal. Evidently he wasn't expecting someone to see through him so easily. Never mind Tsuna of all people.

"Don't talk bad about Takeshi-kun like that!" shrieked one of his fangirls. All three boys winced at the volume alone.

"Exactly how was he talking bad about him?" countered Hayato. "All he did was give me basic information I could have gotten from asking around town."

"Just leave it Hayato," sighed Tsuna. "It's not their fault most of the class is completely oblivious."

Seeing several people take offense to that, Tsuna looked at Takeshi specifically.

"After all, if they actually bothered to look around and notice things, they would have picked up on the fact that Yamamoto-san winces every time he lifts his right arm up more than a few inches. Even I can see he's been overusing his right arm and not giving it proper time to rest."

Takeshi blinked. He didn't think the twinges in his arm were _that_ noticeable.

Either way, he definitely didn't dismiss Tsuna when he found the teen and his new friend debating fish dishes with his dad later that evening.

"Takeshi! These two claim to be in your class!" said his dad.

"Uh yeah, they are," said Takeshi blinking.

"I was actually surprised you defended me like that earlier. Generally speaking you tend to stay out of that nonsense when they start in on me," said Tsuna.

Takeshi shook his head for a moment to clear it. He still didn't know why he had defended Tsuna like that. It wasn't like him to get involved.

Tsuna eyed Takeshi oddly, before he looked at Tsuyoshi who was observing the whole thing with amusement.

"Right. Is he latent, inactive, or active?" asked Tsuna flatly to Tsuyoshi, who stiffened briefly at the question. "Because I'm still waiting for Hayato's resolve to be strong enough to make the shift."

"What color?" countered Tsuyoshi without hesitation.

"Orange with streaks of purple," said Tsuna without batting an eye. "I already have purple, which is the _only_ reason I'm sticking around for the next few months."

Tsuyoshi blinked, before a broad smile came upon his face. He knew Tsuna vaguely, but what he did know was that he was a good kid who took care of his family. Not every son would call every other day like clockwork when they were studying abroad to check in on their mother.

"Latent, and he's blue."

"What are you talking about?" asked Takeshi, baffled beyond belief at the conversation.

"You'll find out if you ever decide to take up the family sword style, or if something comes up," said his father bluntly.

"Yeah, you might want to take him to the doctor. He kept wincing all through class and if his habits haven't changed that much since I was last here then he might be developing tennis elbow or something from how much he uses that arm," said Tsuna.

Tsuyoshi took it under consideration. Now that the kid had mentioned it he did remember noticing slight twitching from Takeshi whenever he had to use his right arm.

How the hell did he miss it earlier?

* * *

Takeshi was officially banned from all practice, and his favorite batting cages were told not to let him in to play. His father had gone in with the doctor's note and they didn't want to be sued for him getting hurt.

The baseball star looked so lost that Tsuna almost felt guilty for it. Almost.

He waited until after school hours before he grinned and had Hayato come up the other side of Takeshi...and frog marched him to his house.

"Where are we going?" asked Takeshi, with the unspoken question of "Why are you kidnapping me?" following it.

"Any idiot who actually _looks_ can tell you have no idea how to handle two months without baseball. Which is why we're going to distract you until you can practice again, since everyone else in class was too busy moaning about the fact you were banned from the sport to notice the truth," said Tsuna bluntly.

"Besides, your dad said it was fine so long as you're home by ten or call ahead if you want to stay over," said Hayato.

Takeshi blinked, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

He found himself actually smiling for real when Tsuna broke out the controllers, and it didn't take much for him to end up having a silly argument with Hayato over their characters.

It was the first time in a while that he had fun without it involving baseball in some way. With people who genuinely saw _him_ , and not the 'star player' of the baseball team.

It was nice, and it loosened something in his chest.

"This was fun," said Takeshi grinning.

"Want to do it again tomorrow? After homework anyway."

"Ugh, I hate math."

"Depends on how you use it," said Tsuna. Seeing Takeshi's look, he grinned wider. "Hayato, can you bring me my laptop? I want to show Takeshi what it's like to use math in the real world, and not that crap the teachers keep trying to shove down our throats."

"What is this?" asked Takeshi, fascinated.

"Welcome, Yamamoto Takeshi, to hacking. Where you can have all the latest games, music and movies without having to wait months in advance. And where math has a real application and not something to bore you to death with."

"And where you can make people who annoy you suffer without having to lay a hand on them or let them know it was you," grinned Hayato. "I made a list, by the way."

"Oh good. I learned to tune them out to the point I'd be hard pressed to remember who said what years ago. Though to be fair it was easier to make a name of people who _haven't_ mocked me in that school or my class than it was to make a list of who had."

Hayato scowled at the mere thought.

"And on an unrelated note, does anyone know why Hibari has been extra snarly lately?" asked Takeshi.

"In general or for the past week?" asked Tsuna.

"He's been 'biting' people left and right for the past four days."

"Give Hibari another two before I actually become concerned," said Tsuna flippantly.

It was probably that time of the month, coupled with the fact that more people knew the truth about Kiyo and Kyouya that made them a little extra grumpy. Once the bond settled and they had a system in place, odds were Hibari would calm down, or at least wouldn't be more vicious than usual.

And after hearing more about Clouds from Fon, Tsuna had the perfect task for Hibari. One that was likely to keep him in her favor, rather than out of it.

He was going to make her the permanent guard for his mother, who lived in Namimori permanently. Which meant the only times he'd drag her out of her territory would be for the "fun missions" where she'd have an actual challenge and not be bored to death.

Fon had laughed himself almost to hiccups when he heard that, before saying Tsuna had a very good grasp on how to handle Clouds. Better than some Skies, who insisted they keep _all_ their Guardians close whether they wanted to or not.

Better to let Hibari make that decision for herself, rather than piss her off and lose her. Besides, Iemitsu's so called protection was crap anyway.

Tsuna had lost track of how many assassins thought they could take out the family of the man who ran CEDEF (and hadn't that come as an uncomfortable shock, finding out the real reason why the ass was never around) only for them to run afoul of the traps that Nana set to train her son.

The man was an idiot and it was only because his mother took matters into her own hands after that mess with the seal that they survived this long.

"That time of the month?" joked Takeshi. It was a running gag that Hibari's mood apparently went hand in hand with his mother's time of the month, because he always became extra grumpy at least once a month for a few days before going back to normal.

"Pretty much, yeah. You'd think Hibari would at least keep the medicines stocked, or they probably get a kick out of taking it out on everyone else."

Takeshi laughed.

"So... can I watch when you use this...hacking, to get back at the idiots who were mocking you earlier?"

"Sure!" said Tsuna grinning.

Takeshi had to admit, it was fun to watch Tsuna work. He seemed to light up a bit more than he had ever seen in class or around town as he actively made those who made fun of him miserable.

Not like they didn't deserve it. Some of the comments he started noticing were particularly cruel and definitely uncalled for, especially about his mother.

Takeshi was actually grinning when he went home. Tsuna was a lot more fun to be around than he expected.

* * *

"Hey mom, Aunt Emiko's birthday is soon, right?" asked Tsuna, looking at the calendar, and noting it was roughly two weeks before his aunt's special day.

Odds were Daisuke would have something planned with Dark, but he wanted to surprise his aunt with something unusual.

"What do you have in mind, Tsu-kun?" asked Nana.

"I want to introduce Aunt Emiko to Colonello, the guy who runs the training grounds in Mafia Land."

Hayato stopped short at that.

"Oh god, is she the one who told your mother how to set up that trap course in the basement?"

"Yup."

"I don't know whether to laugh or to fear what will undoubtedly happen when those two meet," said Hayato, snickering. "Thank _god_ I don't have to put up with his insanity anymore."

Tsuna laughed openly.

He took out his phone that he kept for international calls (the number was based in Europe) and called Colonello.

Odds were the Rain would be thrilled to come visit, if only to avoid being bored out of his skull during the annual invasion.

After twenty years of that, it became rather monotonous.

" _Sure, I'd love to meet this aunt of yours, kora! Is this the same aunt who taught you how to make such a fun course?"_

" _Yup. Her birthday is in two weeks, which puts Mafia Land right around the general area of where she lives, and she's sure to love sharing...ideas...on how to improve your own course. We're good, but my aunt is way better. Oh, and they already know about the underworld so you don't have to really hide what you do. They've been keeping track of Dark's international exploits with great enthusiasm."_

Daisuke had a minor freak out for all of an hour, before it was explained to him that he didn't _have_ to get involved in the dark underworld outside of the jobs his family gave him and Dark in stealing dangerous artwork.

Unlike Tsuna, he wasn't actually BORN into that world. He knew about it peripherally, but that was much as he cared to know.

Colonello chuckled, and started making arrangements. He couldn't wait to meet the trap master.


	8. Chapter 8

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* * *

Tsuna grinned. He had warned his aunt about Colonello coming and wanted to give him the "full" Niwa family welcome.

In other words they were going to let him go through the obstacle course Daisuke had to deal with every time he came home.

Colonello yelped for a few seconds before he caught himself on the door frame...the floor had given out from under him without any warning at all.

He glared at the snickering Tsuna and Hayato.

"Well you did want to see how we train our family, didn't you? Have fun and don't destroy anything," said Tsuna cheerfully.

Colonello, once he got over the shock, grinned.

"Anything lethal in here?"

"We have civilians that come over. Worst you'll get is a bruise, or being stuck in the basement for an hour or two until you get out of that obstacle course," said Tsuna.

Colonello's grin was almost frightening. He took off running with a whoop.

It had been far too long since he had a real challenge.

Emiko loved him immediately. Both because of his size ("You are too adorable!") but also because of his genuine enthusiasm for traps and obstacle courses.

Daisuke almost feared what his mother would come up with after meeting a fellow enthusiast who knew what he was doing.

Colonello was in love.

"If only you weren't married and I wasn't cursed," he sighed.

Emiko giggled.

"You do realize I have a younger sister, right?" said Emiko, nodding to Tsuna.

Tsuna blinked, before he snickered.

"I could do worse. On second thought, Mama could do worse than a chibified husband compared to the moron she has now."

"Won't her husband try to come after me?" joked Colonello, not realizing Tsuna was dead serious.

"She married Iemitsu Sawada. You do the math," said Tsuna.

It took several seconds before Colonello's face went back to normal. He went through a myriad of rather amusing expressions before that point.

"Wait... you're the son of that complete _idiot_?" said Colonello in disbelief.

"I prefer to think of him as less of a father and more in line with someone who donates their genetics for in-vitriol procedures," deadpanned Tsuna.

Colonello blinked, before he chuckled.

"Hell, if I had a kid I'd definitely want one as amusing as you."

"For the record, Fon has visited my house before so we're not that unused to 'chibi-sized' visitors," said Tsuna.

Colonello looked like he was seriously considering it. These were his kind of people and they didn't look at him oddly because of his curse.

"That...and it would be nice to have someone who's actually _competent_ in charge of protecting my mother. Hibari is good, don't get me wrong, but they do a lot of patrolling and they can't be everywhere at once."

That cemented it. Training idiots was fun, don't get him wrong, but he was _bored_.

"Besides, I need someone to give Hayato incentive to train properly as my assistant, along with anyone else I pick up, and he seems to properly fear... I mean respect you," said Tsuna with a straight face.

Hayato shot Tsuna a dirty look. Colonello's cackling wasn't helping.

"You steal for money too, right?"

"I also hack. If you can give me a link to the mafia banks I could make people's lives very interesting indeed. Could you imagine how the Vongola would react to finding out they were robbed twice?" snickered Tsuna.

"Bit risky to do the main family," said Colonello.

"I was actually talking about CEDEF. Maybe they'd get off their ass and actually be effective if they realized they were about to be dead broke because of the boss' son," said Tsuna dryly.

"SOLD!" cackled Colonello. He was so helping Tsuna now. He loved this kid!

Emiko snickered. It was certainly one of the more eventful birthdays she had had in a long time.

* * *

Mammon saw the e-mail and wondered how it got past their personal fire wall. Then they saw who the sender was and smirked.

This was sure to be entertaining.

 **Phantom** \- I'm planning to make the lives of CEDEF very interesting indeed...on top of draining their accounts dry. You want in? I'm sure your Boss would love what we have planned!

 **Mammon-** _Only if I get a percentage of the money. And what did they do to piss you off?_

 **Phantom-** It was too risky to hit the main family twice, but I like the Varia too much to go after you. CEDEF, on the other hand... well, let's just say I have personal reasons to hate the jackass running it and leave it at that. Not enough to kill him, but enough to make his life miserable while Lal Mirch screams at him because he's not competent enough to find out who's after their ass.

Mammon openly cackled at the idea. They went to run it by their Boss, who smirked.

"What's the brat going to do anyway?" asked Squalo.

"According to him he's planning to rob them blind and drain their accounts dry. Something about a personal grudge against Iemitsu. He offered to let us join in on making their lives interesting."

Mammon waited for the snickering to die down, or the smug amusement of Xanxus to be felt. Their Sky was pleased to be included in anything that involved getting back at that idiot Iemitsu.

"Tell Phantom we want in, and a general overview of what he has planned," said Xanxus.

Mammon took out their phone, but paused for a moment.

"Boss?"

"The kid has balls, and he'd fit right in with us when he gets tired of being a thief."

Mammon hummed and sent the text. They got an immediate reply, and Mammon smirked.

"He wants to know if you want to cause the distraction so he can rob them of their hard drives and anything interesting, or if we want to be the ones robbing the main headquarters blind. Though he'll still split the money he's taking with us fifty-fifty," said Mammon.

Xanxus smirked as well.

"Distraction. Kid obviously knows what he's doing and tell him to make sure he gets everything he can get his hands on."

Mammon sent the reply.

"He'll hammer out the details once he's in Italy again. He's currently visiting his mother, since she hasn't seen him for months."

Squalo nodded in approval. If there was one thing the Varia (hell, most of the mafia) as a rule approved of, it was staying close to one's mother. Even Xanxus never spoke ill of the woman who gave birth to him, and she had practically sold him out to the Vongola once his Flames manifested properly!

(There was also the minor, unspoken of fact that he had her favorite flowers delivered to her grave every birthday and mother's day. It was sort of an unspoken mission for Levi every year, as the man's most passionate sycophant.)

"Wonder if the brat would be willing to act on a contractual basis as our personal distraction," said Squalo musing. It would explain why he had a proper codename in their files at least.

Mammon asked...and read out the reply "'So long as the death doesn't get traced back to Phantom Dark, I could care less if you use my thieving as a distraction.'"

Xanxus' grin was vicious.

Tsuna looked at his phone.

"Why do I have the distinct feeling Xanxus is going to use this as an excuse to dump his Cloud officer's paperwork on me later?" he mused.

"What's that?" asked Colonello.

"Nothing. Xanxus asked if I'd be willing to work as a distraction on a contractual basis, since I'm never staining Phantom Dark's name with outright assassination," said Tsuna.

"Hell, it might actually work. It's a pain in the ass to get a Cloud to do _anything_ if they don't want to do it. And your territory is tied more to Dark's reputation than anything concrete. Not like anyone would figure it out unless you told them."

"Plus this gives me the chance to rob CEDEF of something they wouldn't think to check for after the fact. I'm still surprised the Vongola haven't noticed it," said Tsuna cheerfully.

"...Do I want to know?"

"Two words: plausible deniability."

"I don't want to know then," said Colonello cheerfully.

"I will say this... Giotto's second son is reclaiming his birthright. Not like they'd get the hint what it means considering according to their records, he only had the one. And believe me, I double checked that the first chance I had."

Apparently the first son had wisely kept his mouth shut about his younger brother, and it wasn't like they were going to look for MORE heirs when they already had him. And by the time anyone thought to try, the records were carefully removed by the Niwa clan once they realized the position they were in.

Mostly because they didn't want to be dragged into the familigia's squabbles unless absolutely necessary. It was bad enough they forced the first son into remaining as a spare heir to the familigia when they busted him.

In short Tsuna was righting a wrong made centuries ago before they had any idea of what he was doing. So long as they never needed to pull out that trump card, it was highly unlikely they'd find out anytime soon.

Colonello hummed.

"I could help you work out a contract with the Varia so they don't tie you down too much. You might have to train a few rookies and make sure you're seen around the mansion, but otherwise they should honor the agreement."

"Thanks. How do you like Namimori?"

"Loving it," said Colonello with a wide grin. Nana was awesome and let him play around with her home, so long as none of the traps were too lethal unless the system was set that way deliberately.

There was even talk of him trapping the Hibari mansion when Fon found out Colonello was planning to stick around, since they never really messed with it before now.

It took Colonello over a week of his vacation time away from Mafia Land (though he was seriously planning to let his contract lapse) before he noticed it.

"What the hell?"

"Something wrong?" asked Tsuna.

"My Flames feel weird."

Tsuna blinked, before he mentally poked at his own and found a new tentative bond. He poked at it with a mental finger and saw Colonello's eyes widen in shock.

"Oops. I totally forgot about that, though to be fair I think Fon has one too," said Tsuna after a moment.

Colonello jumped up and pointed at Tsuna in shock.

"You're a _Sky?_ "

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and? I like being a thief too much to want to try and make a proper familigia. There's a reason my secondary is Cloud," said Tsuna. He liked to wander a lot. And his Guardians would probably end up as his assistants, rather than his protectors anyway.

Colonello stared at him, mouth opening and closing in disbelief. Then he huffed and sat down hard on the bed.

"I can't believe you're a freaking Sky and don't think it's worth mentioning."

"Do you not want the bond or something?"

Colonello quickly shook his head. If he had to be bond to a Sky, at least it was someone he could tolerate. Tsuna was awesome and so was his family. He was just surprised was all.

"Nah, it's cool. At least I know you can defend yourself and I won't have to deal with most of the crap that comes with a Guardian bond."

"Now you see why I wanted someone strong to defend my mother while I'm away," said Tsuna.

Colonello nodded in agreement. Then he remembered something.

"Wait... didn't your aunt mention your dad had you sealed when you were five?"

Tsuna made a face of disgust.

"That asshole took one look at my Flames and convinced Vongola Nono to seal them, right after I had just awakened them. If I still had that damn thing on when I was fourteen it ran the high risk of killing me, because Dark is tied to my Flames and he always emerges in the boys," said Tsuna.

"But that goes against Vindice law! Sealing the other Flames types is one thing, but Skies are considered almost sacred for a reason! Sealing one so young would have screwed you up for life! Never mind the whole Sky Attraction drawing in Guardians!"

"Now you see why my family was so pissed he did it, and why they were equally quick to remove it," said Tsuna dryly. "If I had the proof I would gladly have the Vindice arrest that moron."

Colonello's fragile opinion of Iemitsu sank into the abyss. There was no excuse for sealing a Sky, especially one that young who couldn't possibly have earned such a thing. And to do it to his own _son_.

Despicable.


	9. Chapter 9

The distraction was simple enough. Xanxus decided to make a grand entrance and bitch out Iemitsu for the crap he pulled while he was on ice. Naturally that drew the bigger players out of their offices and away from security monitors that Dark had long since learned the locations of.

Lal Mirch was good, but Colonello was her former student and had broken in enough times that he had the place more or less cased out. Mostly to bring her sappy Valentines or other presents.

Dark walked as if he belonged, using special Mist bindings (which Tsuna promptly called Hammer Space, and the name stuck) to steal anything that looked the least bit interesting. It was when he got to the special room that no one really bothered with that his work really began.

It took him twenty minutes to steal the other half of the rings, and get out without leaving any evidence.

And then he hit the servers and stole every hard drive he could reasonably get his hands on without anyone realizing anything, considering the Varia had "helpfully" knocked out all the power with one of their attacks on the building. They weren't known for being "sane" and Iemitsu plain pissed them off.

He walked out the same door he came in and no one even tried to stop him.

He did send a text to the others, and made his way to the Varia mansion.

* * *

 _Several hours later..._

"That was fun, darlings~ Did you see how red his face was? I thought he was going to have a coronary with the boss telling him off for his stupidity!" said Luss enthusiastically.

"Shishishi... the peasants learned their place," snickered Belphegor happily. He stabbed a lot of peasants who worked for the fool who talked bad about their boss. They deserved everything they got.

"Voi! So did you get what you were after?" asked Squalo to Dark.

"I took back what those idiots had stolen from my family. Doubt they'll even notice it's gone for a long while, especially since I also stole enough of their more recent 'acquisitions'. Speaking of which... you can have these. Not like I want to bother with them," said Dark, unloading the hard drives and all the files he stole.

Xanxus was grinning wickedly. They would go through it all with a fine tooth comb before they even considered letting CEDEF know where the files and hard drives were.

And they even had a legitimate reason for that show... Dark had paid them to act as a distraction while he reacquired something that they had taken from his family! They even had a receipt for it, so the Vongola couldn't bitch them out too much later!

So what if the funds came from CEDEF's accounts? They could pin the blame on them for the theft!

"So brat, how would you like to be the Varia Cloud officer?" asked Xanxus seriously.

Dark's grin was wicked.

"I don't mind acting with a partner or as the main distraction, but I can't have the reputation of Phantom Dark have the title of 'assassin' added to it. No offense. But... I suppose I could be a part time assistant in your operations and train your Clouds into something close to competent if you don't mind their dignity taking several hits. Colonello certainly loved the ideas I shared from our family's specialty in trap making."

Mammon stared at him.

"That was _you_?" they said in shock.

"Miser brat, what's so special about that?" asked Xanxus.

Mammon looked at Xanxus with an odd expression.

"Colonello's infamous obstacle course underwent a major upgrade several months ago. He claimed he got advice from someone who went through something that was twice as hard before he was ten, and promptly added it to his own. To put this in perspective, the original was something more in line with what the special forces use, but the new one has actual lasers, automated crocodiles from Verde, and pit falls that dump you straight into an outlet that takes you to the area close to where the sharks are," said Mammon flatly.

Seeing the others pale at the idea, Dark grinned.

"My mother loves that one, though I long modified the net she had under my bed when she opened up that pit trap into a hammock with pillows and a blanket so I could keep sleeping in when she dumps me in the basement. That course is way more fun than the one Colonello uses, and even he was impressed with it. It took him four hours just to reach the top, and we had to let him out since he would have just destroyed the lock to get back into the main house," said Dark amused.

Everyone stared at him...then...

"Phantom brat, you're making us a proper course so we can toss the greenhorns in that haven't earned names yet," said Xanxus seriously.

If they wanted to be Varia quality, then they would damn well learn how to handle ANYTHING.

"I fear for my free time," said Squalo. Somehow he just KNEW the boss was going to toss them in as a proper test run, and it would suck.

"Oh and before you get any ideas, all the traps are designed for the use of training the heirs to the family I belong to, and we stay strictly in the civilian side. So no Flames, especially you, your highness," said Dark seriously.

"Voi! Your family is civilian?"

Dark smirked.

"Not all 'criminals' bother with the underworld. We've been a family of Phantom Thieves since the time of the Vongola Primo. I'm just the first to take it international and bother with the underworld since the first Flame user married into it. They know about this side of the world, but they don't mess with it and outside of annoying the hell out of the cops it doesn't really register them. However several centuries of stealing things have allowed them to get really, _really_ good at traps. Specifically recreating them so their active members can get past them to the target. Though if you know of any decent Flame traps, my aunt would love you for it. Our knowledge of Flames is very limited," said Dark.

"How limited?" asked Xanxus.

"We barely had anything close to knowledge of the bare minimum until Fon found my permanent assistant and explained things to him, like Cloud flames. Though training is going to be a pain. I mostly act as the decoy...my partner is the one with the active Flames."

"I can see this being a profitable relationship, for both sides," said Mammon grinning.

"Or a monumental headache," said Dark.

Xanxus quickly found out what "Phantom" meant when he said a monumental headache.

"You mean to tell me his permanent partner is a _kid_?"

"A kid who got your ass out of the Vongola mansion without anyone actually noticing while Mammon distracted them with their illusions."

Xanxus blinked, before a smirk appeared on his face.

"There's one thing I don't get though... why in god's name do you want to rule the Vongola so damn much anyway? I mean you don't even like the paperwork that comes with being the Varia boss, so why would you add that nonsense on top of it?" asked Tsuna honestly.

"Mostly to prove to that old geezer I'd be a better boss than he was," said Xanxus.

Tsuna openly snorted, and almost inadvertently pissed off Xanxus in the process.

"Considering that asshole sealed two Skies and allowed the Vongola's name to sink into the gutters, I honestly _doubt_ you'd do worse than him. Hell, your name is still more feared and respected than Timoteo Vongola, if only because _your_ people are actually competent and haven't let the same rats into the Varia that he's allowed into the main family!"

Xanxus had to make sure he wasn't hearing things.

"What do you mean 'sealed two Skies'?"

"That asshole was talked into sealing Iemitsu's son soon after he went active, and the boy was a Sky. He was only five. And the less said about his indifference to the fact he's married with a child, the better. He barely even registers them as existing outside of bragging to his coworkers with pictures."

Xanxus' snarl was actually really comforting.

"I knew he was trash, but I didn't know he was that stupid."

"That's an understatement. So about that Flame training."

"What can you do so far, brat?"

"This does not reach outside this room. I don't care how much Mammon would be willing to sell it for, I don't want those bastards finding out I'm here," said Tsuna flatly. "I'd be willing to invoke Omerta if I have to."

Xanxus glared at him.

"What's so special about you, brat?"

"Let's just say the Vongola would be _very_ interested in finding out I'm training my Flames with you and leave it at that. Especially the two idiots I just robbed."

"Fine. Consider this secret," said Xanxus.

Needless to say he went from shock to realization as to why the kid was invoking Omerta.

"...You're that moron's son. The one he sealed."

"I prefer to think of him as a sperm donor, thank you. Besides, the second my mother saw something was wrong she took me to visit her sister. It took them almost six months to remove that damn seal, and it would have screwed me up for life if it had stayed on... if I survived past fourteen that is."

Xanxus was not an idiot.

Dark mentioned a 'permanent partner', and a lot of little things fit in. like why Dark hadn't distracted the Vongola personally, rather than have this kid hire Mammon.

"You're Dark."

"I'm his 'container', I suppose you could say. It's a family trait on my mother's side. When a boy from the main line turns fourteen, they inherit Dark and his powers. Some of which are Flame based, and if that seal had remained, I would be lucky to be alive. Now imagine how pissed Iemitsu and that senile old man would be if they found out _you_ trained my Sky Flames," said Tsuna smirking.

Pissed wouldn't even _begin_ to describe it. With how much they hated him, they would have a coronary if they found out.

Which was all the reason he would need to do it anyway, on top of the agreement he had with Dark.

"What did you steal from the Vongola anyway?"

"Let's just say they're going to have a heart attack when they find both sets missing, and it would probably cost me one of the favors you owe so that you don't kill me outright," deadpanned Tsuna.

Xanxus put two and two together again, before his jaw dropped.

"You stole the Vongola Half-Rings?" he said in disbelief.

"The security around them wasn't worth shit," said Tsuna. "I literally walked away twice with the rings and no one even sounded a single alarm. Hell the ones in the main house barely had a working blood seal, which took me all of five seconds to get around!"

Xanxus didn't know what to think of this. And then it occurred to him what the Vongola's reactions would be if they found out that the next Decimo was _Varia_ trained and not inclined to listen to the shit of the Ninth generation. The sheer chaos of having someone like Dark in their midst after he robbed them twice.

"Screw it. I'm going to train your sorry ass into the ground so that when you finally come out with the rings you can proudly say I'm the one who beat your ass into shape. If only to give those bastards in the main family a coronary learning you're on better terms with us than the rest of them."

"By the way, I'll still act as your Cloud officer if you want. If there's one thing being the son from a clan of experienced thieves can do, it's make a disguise that's damn near impossible to notice without the use of Flames. That way you have someone competent to order your men until you find a proper Cloud Guardian since it's a pain to get them. I managed to luck out on that one, though we're more rivals than anything at this point."

"What's your territory?"

"Dark's reputation as a thief only. I would prefer not to get my hands bloody, but as long as his reputation as a thief remains intact I will kill if I have to," said Tsuna bluntly.

"I can work with that. Now let's see what you can do, brat."

It was clear Tsuna had Xanxus' respect, which was more than could be said of Iemitsu.

It took some major balls to rob the Vongola of both sets of the famous half-rings and it took genuine skill to actually get _away_ with said theft under their noses without anyone the wiser.

If this didn't wake up those shitty geezers in the main family that there was a rot in the Vongola, then nothing would.

At least this way he knew the next Decimo would be someone he could tolerate, as opposed to the shits he had to deal with now.


	10. Chapter 10

"Wait, explain to me how the hell the Vongola lost _three_ heirs in less than a decade and never though to actually increase the security around the third one after the first two died and you were frozen," said Tsuna incredulous.

Xanxus looked as openly disgusted about the whole thing as Tsuna did, despite being under an illusion courtesy of Mammon who was with Belphegor. They had the perfect cover for why they would be in Namimori, since the bratty prince apparently had a thing for Tsuyoshi's sushi. He was a frequent visitor, enough that no one would bat an eye at him visiting the area.

Takeshi was still up in the air as a possible Rain.

Partly because he hadn't activated his Flames yet, but also because while he had become quick friends with Tsuna, the inconsistencies about the other teen bugged him enough that he wasn't fully ready to commit as a "guardian" yet. Not that he knew that.

Good thing Tsuna had Colonello as a back up, just in case.

Tsuna had a sudden thought, and groaned.

"What?" asked Xanxus.

"Well I highly doubt the morons in the Vongola are going to drag you back as heir after the coup, which means the only available options are..."

"The moron and you," said Xanxus, before he started laughing.

"How much you want to bet they'll send Reborn of all people to 'train' me? I mean the Cavallone guy has pretty much finished whatever training he might need there, and if he could bring that familigia back up..." said Tsuna in exasperation.

Xanxus laughed even harder, because it was an obvious choice.

"You know that this means we'll have to come up with a cover for your other side," said Xanxus.

"Why bother? If we pull it off right, we could probably bring him in as an accomplice. Reborn loves chaos and the mess it creates right? Well what could possibly fit that criteria other than a 'civilian' who is already informed and has a name for himself? Hell, a civilian who's on the good side of the Varia and it's boss no less, to the point he's doing the paperwork as the Cloud officer!"

Xanxus loved the idea already. There was a reason he got along with "Natsu", and it had everything to do with the fact that the kid had a grudge against the two shitty Skies that made both their lives harder...especially Iemitsu.

That and the fact the kid generally tended to ask if he wanted in on the pranks.

This was going be hilarious. It wasn't often that someone caught a man of Reborn's skill absolutely flatfooted like this, and the pictures alone would make the secrecy worth it.

No way was Mammon going to lose out on this shit.

(The second Mammon heard what Tsuna had in mind, they damn near begged to be the one to get the pictures. They had been trying to get one over Reborn for decades. They didn't even mind splitting the task between them as well as Colonello and Fon.)

* * *

If Reborn had any idea what was waiting for him in Namimori, he certainly didn't show it.

By all accounts his new student was going to be a challenge.

Poor grades, no friends and zero talents in anything. He could barely do a twenty-meter run without tripping or causing a scene.

And he was going to be the Vongola Decimo.

Dios Mio, the kid was sure to be a bigger pain than Dino had been. Plus, civilian. Hopefully the kid wouldn't be too much of a nuisance about the whole "criminal underworld" thing.

Well, he did like a challenge.

Tsunayoshi was timid, not very athletic, and apparently only had one friend. Someone by the name of Hayato Niwa. The boy looked familiar, but he couldn't really place why. His hair was certainly attention getting, being that bright shade of red.

Then as it turned out? The Niwa kid happened to _live_ in the Sawada home as a boarder, though he took the bunk bed above Tsuna's. Apparently the two got along well enough that they didn't mind sharing a room. Which allowed the guest room to be free.

Depending on how strong the friendship was, he might have to forcibly relocate the kid.

The first clue he got was the house. It wasn't that anything was out of the ordinary or looked suspicious.

It was that it felt too normal. Like a professional had gone over it and made it as boring as possible. Especially in concerns to almost every area save for the living room, kitchen, bathroom and master bedroom.

His sharp, professional eyes caught several things that would be dismissed at first glance.

Like the tiny divots in the walls that were placed too regularly to be coincidence. That had been odd.

* * *

Then there was the mother in question. She took his story at face value, but there was something in her eyes that had his instincts telling him something was up.

It wasn't until he went to test the bed in Tsuna's room to check for anything that would give him an idea of what the hell was going on that it happened.

One minute he was on Tsuna's bed (looking for incriminating things that would give him ammo on the boy, like dirty magazines or anything illegal) the next the covers completely trapped him for several seconds and he realized he was _falling_. With his skills, getting out was easy. What was concerning was that for some reason, Leon wasn't with him. Now that he thought about it, the chameleon had been on a plant Reborn knew the lizard adored for some sun when the now obvious trap activated.

He fell a decent amount of distance, enough to make climbing pointless. Fortunately the trap didn't seem to be lethal, because there was a hammock with pillows and a single blanket. It was thin, mostly because the temperature didn't warrant a thicker one. He could also see the exit.

What he found immediately reminded him of Colonello's precious obstacle course, except it was far more advanced and he had the feeling it was a lot more difficult.

He would be right.

It took him _six hours_ , even with his diminutive size just to get to the first floor without Leon's help. The pressure plates were the biggest pain in the ass he had to deal with, as they were hyper sensitive and tended to force him back to the 'ground' floor whenever he set one off.

Considering the multiple flashes from cameras, Reborn was not happy. He was even less happy to see Fon there already with his nephew, looking highly amused.

"Fon. What are you doing here?"

"I was promised blackmail on you when you found out exactly what you were walking into," said Fon serenely. "That and your new student happens to be Kyouya's Sky."

Well at least he wouldn't have to deal with the kid getting a Cloud.

Then what Fon said hit him like a brick.

All indications said that Tsuna was sealed at five. How the hell could he already have a Cloud if...

Reborn looked at the kid, calmly talking to his friend while playing some game on the TV.

The second their eyes met, Reborn knew.

This kid was far more competent than his file even remotely suggested. And now that he had a better look at this "Hayato" he could clearly recognize the brat.

Niwa his ass. That was the Storm he was planning on dumping on the kid once he found out where the kid had gone to ground to avoid his sister.

"You already know."

"About the Cosa Nostra? Kind of hard not to after Fon-sensei explained things when he found out I was Hibari's Sky," said Tsuna. "Hayato I picked up as an investment, one that has paid out big time."

Once he realized that no, they weren't going to abandon him (the fact Emiko had adopted him as a full member of the clan once he got past the traps was a big clue there) and that Tsuna was dead serious about making him his partner had done wonders for his temper.

He was still a tsundere though. But at least he wasn't snapping at everyone for every perceived slight against Tsuna or Dark, and he had calmed down once his Flames harmonized with Tsuna's.

A Guardian bond was for life, or close enough to it.

Reborn pulled out the file he had on Tsuna. Then he ripped it to pieces.

It was clearly beyond useless.

Fon chuckled.

"A wise move, considering Nana has been sending false reports to her 'husband' for years now."

Well that explained a lot. Iemitsu was an idiot, and CEDEF was _still_ trying to recover from the loss of their hard drives and a good chunk of their files on top of the monetary loss.

Someone had hit them and hit them hard. Someone who knew damn well what they were doing and managed to get the Varia in on it. Lal had been beyond pissed when she realized what really happened.

Iemitsu damn near went into a rage when he found out who had the hard drives. Someone had managed to find them on the black market, and within a week they found out _Mammon_ had been selling the damn things.

All the Mist would say was that it was partial payment for their assistance in distracting the main players in CEDEF long enough for the thief to get what they were after. Not even Nono could get Xanxus or the Varia to hand over the rest, and Iemitsu was having trouble paying them for it, since his accounts were suddenly in the red after some massive withdrawals from all three of the banks he used, all with people claiming up and down _he_ was the one to make the withdrawals.

Whoever had robbed him did such a good job that even the men in charge of the accounts were openly fooled into believing it was Iemitsu himself, because no Mist illusions were used and the behavior was a dead match to his own.

Nono was _not_ pleased that the group in charge of intelligence had been robbed so thoroughly and they still had no idea who the hell had done it, especially since the payment for the distraction _literally_ came out of Iemitsu's own pocket.

They still hadn't been able to pin down whoever used Dark's image to free Xanxus, and he certainly wasn't talking.

Finding out his prospective student was the second heir to a very long line of thieves actually made him happy. He clearly knew about the Cosa Nostra and wasn't a fool, and he was already partially trained with at least two Guardians.

"I have to ask...what was with that trap on the bed?"

"How else am I supposed to get my son up for school on time? My sister is very effective with making traps, and it's a good way to wake anyone up," said Nana, as if it were obvious. "Though it is also set to go off when no one is _supposed_ to be up there. The fact you stayed on it for over several seconds is why you were sent to the basement. Though it usually takes Tsu-kun fifteen minutes, as opposed to the several hours you used."

Fon hid his laughter behind his sleeve. He wasn't entirely successful.

"How did you lose so much time down there anyway?"

Reborn openly scowled in annoyance.

"Damn pressure plates kept tripping," he said, hiding his face with his hat. It didn't help when he heard Fon laugh openly. "Alright, clearly the information I have is beyond flawed. What sort of dossier can you create on the real thing?"

Fon smirked and pulled out a different file instead. It was a basic dossier of Tsuna's ability _before_ Xanxus got his claws into the boy. Enough for Reborn to work with, without worry of him finding out something he shouldn't.

Not until Tsuna knew he could trust the man. Fon and Colonello liked him and claimed he was a professional, which is the ONLY reason he got that file, but he had yet to prove himself to Tsuna personally.

Reborn looked it over with a discerning eye. He had feared he'd end up with a timid rabbit, and instead he got something closer to a potential tiger cub. One who already had a penchant for their work, though he might have to work on the boy's kleptomania.

The fact he already knew of the underworld and had contacts, good ones at that, spoke volumes of how lax CEDEF had been before the break in.

Lal had lit a real fire under their ass to compensate for the loss, but it was quickly becoming clear it wouldn't be enough. Not without the missing files and hard drives, which they were STILL trying to replace.

All in all, it wasn't bad and far more than he was expecting to get. He would put Tsuna or "Natsu" as his alias was in the underworld, around the same level as Dino originally. Without the clumsy nature his previous student had.

Reborn hummed. He could work with this.

"What about the school work?" he asked seriously.

Tsuna made a face.

"I only go there for the cover it provides. No one ever expects the dead last in class to actually have skills. And the teachers are a total joke."

Hayato rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, if not for Boss needing _one_ friendly face in class, I would have chosen a different school. The classes are pathetic, and the teachers barely know what they're doing. And don't get me started on that idiot who teaches math."

Fon hid a smile.

"Tsuna, Hayato and Hibari have all been taking online courses, and using the school for cover only," explained Fon. "They already have high school degrees and are working towards college classes. It has proven far more beneficial than the school they attend during the day."

Reborn nodded, a little relieved to hear that. What little he had seen of the boy's "grades" had him somewhat dismayed. Finding out it was mostly for cover was a weight off his back.

"Just don't expect me to be _respectful_ to the current don and not at all to the jackass who donated his genetics to me," Tsuna warned him. "I have a personal grievance against those two fools, one that my clan shares."

"The seal," Reborn guessed.

"Among other things. I'm just lucky that my mother's clan happens to specialize in seals and knew how to remove this one before it became a problem. The thing wouldn't even remotely cover Sky Attraction from what I was told," said Tsuna in disgust.

Well, Reborn couldn't fault the boy for that much. Using a seal on a five year old Sky who had just gone active had been a fool move. The recent acts on the Vongola had only shown that the current Don was losing his touch and wasn't fit to lead anymore. The only section of the familigia that _hadn't_ started slipping since the seal was applied was the Varia, and that was more because Xanxus had a damn good second.

CEDEF's incompetence had been exposed, the Vongola main family had been embarrassed publicly by a relatively unknown thief, and the Varia had their Sky back due to an unknown individual.

It was becoming more and more clear that they needed a new don and soon. Someone was clearly gunning for the family, though why was unknown.

If they knew the reason for it, then it would narrow down who was doing this significantly. The Vongola had far too many enemies.

"Give me a basic overview of the house," asked Reborn politely.

"The only 'safe' areas are the living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and master bedroom. The rest are all trapped to hell and back, and they are all armed for capture mostly during the day while the house is unoccupied. If a suspected threat is aimed at anyone inside they can be immediately upgraded to lethal," said Tsuna, reciting something clearly from memory. He scowled a bit. "We've had to clear out six of the lethal ones over the years because that idiot couldn't keep his damn mouth shut."

Reborn had to share that scowl. The fact that they had to defend themselves and it never made the reports didn't speak well of Iemitsu's so called security.

"Before I forget... Colonello, you ready to show yourself?"

Seeing the familiar Rain, Reborn had to blink.

"Colonello's agreed to work as the primary defense for Mama, and he'll be working with the Hibari about upgrading their defenses as well."

"So you have no objections to being Decimo then."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow.

"I have objections to taking anything the Ninth generation tells me seriously. If they're going to stick me with a job I could care less for, then I'm verifying anything they 'tell' me independently with trusted sources. Their previous ability to do their job is highly suspect at this point. Three dead heirs in less than a decade reeks of bad security at the very least, to say nothing of their recent troubles with a thief."

Reborn wasn't going to argue with that point. At least Tsuna was taking this whole thing seriously.


	11. Chapter 11

It was official.

The "Niwa" home was far more well defended than any other home he had been in of this size, save for the fact that they didn't bother to have anyone man the monitors.

And after seeing even a fraction of the "lethal" traps, which could be activated from a single phone and could only be deactivated by one of the two people living in the home...Hayato had yet to "earn" that particular code, because one had to make it past the traps that lead to the keypad which even Reborn would admit would give him far too much trouble as simply shooting it was not an option and would turn all the traps instantly lethal... he was able to sleep far more soundly at night than he normally did.

It only made sense that a family of thieves who had centuries of experience in dealing with traps would make sure their homes were _very_ well defended.

And the basement was just the last resort escape, which could be accessed from almost every room in the house. The entryways were all different, and not a place one would expect...like Tsuna's bed for instance, or inside the master closet in a just-barely big enough crawl space behind a false wall near the floor.

He could get into it no problem, but for an adult male it would have been a difficult squeeze. For someone of Nana's size, it was just a little tight.

He quickly found his own trap skills lacking when Tsuna was able to get past them while half asleep in the middle of the night without even noticing they were there or setting them off once.

After seeing the "morning routine" that Nana set up, which changed daily at no real set pattern, he figured out why. He heartily approved, since it kept Tsuna's evading skills sharp, even if it was hilarious to watch Hayato attempt to do the same at a much slower pace.

The boy made an excellent thief, though he only ever targeted those who really pissed him off with his pickpocketing skills.

It wouldn't do for him to target someone and get caught at it. That would lead to the cops _noticing_ him, which was something they didn't want.

Reborn also approved of the way Tsuna and Hayato had to sneak into the school, past the increasingly competent members of the Disciplinary Committee and Tsuna's Cloud without getting caught. The teens and the Cloud were all far more competent than most mafioso, to say nothing of ordinary cops.

Honestly, Reborn was just waiting for the right moment to hit Tsuna with one of his special bullets. The boy had yet to give him a reason to see exactly how strong his Dying Will was.

Rather than spring it on him, his instincts told him to be upfront about what he was planning to do.

That turned out to be a good thing, he found out later.

"So basically these bullets force Flames out into the open, even if a seal is in place. We're going to need to take this outside the city then," said Tsuna.

"What makes you say that?"

"Niwa genetics," said Tsuna simply. "You'll understand once it's used, but there's no way in hell I'm doing this in a populated area where I could be seen."

Reborn took a spot on Tsuna's shoulder, and let the boy lead the way to an out of the way area he would have passed by without a second thought. It was a good place to train at least.

He also noticed the Hibari boy nearby.

Without giving Tsuna much warning, Reborn used Leon to shoot the bullet.

And the second he did, he found out why Tsuna said that he would need this to take place outside of areas where they would be seen. Great wings sprang from his back, in a rainbow of colors with orange and some purple being the predominant ones.

He'd recognize those feathers anywhere.

Though he was a bit baffled when he saw what Tsuna's last regret was.

That was a pretty thorough kiss between boys, though the fact Tsuna managed to dodge the irate tonfa strikes from the Cloud was pretty impressive.

"Omnivore! Prepare to die!"

Tsuna, when the effects of the bullet wore off, quickly took to the sky. It was abundantly clear he at least knew how to use his wings at least.

Reborn stared for all of ten seconds before he said "What the hell?!"

Tsuna blinked and noticed Reborn below. And the irate Hibari.

"...I am not coming down until Hibari calms down."

"I will make you suffer for that, omnivore," growled Hibari.

"I will take you out to a restaurant of your choice outside Namimori, as well as your choice of entertainment," said Tsuna.

Hibari blinked.

"How far outside Namimori?" she asked seriously.

"As far as Europe or Mafia Land."

The tonfas slid back into wherever Hibari hid them.

"Acceptable, omnivore."

Reborn was very confused by that.

"Explain."

Tsuna looked at Reborn, his eyes a brilliant amber as opposed to the usual brown color, before he saw something and chuckled.

"So _you're_ the one who Fon gave the other feather to. The one who turned it into a bracelet of sorts."

Reborn blinked.

"You mean to tell me this is yours?" he said, pulling out the odd bracelet.

One of the wings flexed a bit, and suddenly a rain of feathers fell around Reborn in a perfect circle.

"You tell me."

Reborn picked up a single orange feather and compared them. The feeling was identical, though the new one naturally had far less tear and was actively being kept solid by the wings.

Tsuna landed and dispersed the wings, only for every feather save for the one in Reborn's hands to vanish into oddly colored particles.

Quite fascinating really. And ten minutes after he dropped the new feather, it disappeared too.

"Why wings?"

"I like you as a person, Reborn, but until I know _exactly_ where your loyalty lies I'm not going to go into too many specifics. Just know it's a unique quirk on my mother's side," said Tsuna flatly.

Reborn looked at him shrewdly.

"And what would it take to earn that sort of regard?"

"Absolute proof you won't go blabbing to the Ninth or that jackass. I know you can keep a secret, but until I can trust you when it comes to an active contract you're not going to get the full story," said Tsuna without hesitation.

Reborn blinked.

That... was actually a very good reason for secrecy, one he heartily approved of sadly. Keeping a secret because he didn't want to say anything that would force him to report to the Ninth was a valid excuse for not talking.

And it kept Reborn from having to make a difficult decision about his professional pride.

"So you're a Sky primary with Cloud secondary?" he asked finally.

"I've been getting a lot of training when it comes to the Sky aspect from someone who knows what they're doing and can keep their mouth shut. He's allied to the Vongola, which is all I'm going to say about him."

Reborn nodded. He could live with that.

* * *

Tsuna heard his 'special' phone vibrate and looked at the text. Since Reborn was "training" him, it was better for all involved if he only used text.

 _Special mission. Need distraction at..._

Tsuna read the details, then went searching online. He hacked into several museums near the area, and found one close to the location indicated.

With Dark distracting the cops and most of the people in the area, it made missions much easier for the strike team when it came to taking out targets. The trick would be getting past Reborn.

Actually he might as well bring Reborn into this secret. If he invoked Omerta, it was unlikely the Sun would tell the Ninth.

It wasn't like it went against his contract.

"So let me get this straight. You're Phantom Dark."

Tsuna concentrated, and shifted seamlessly with Dark. Reborn stared for a few moments, before muttering something under his breath.

"Why tell me this now?"

"Got a request from a client to cause a distraction. Figured it was easier to bring you in so you can watch Hayato then it was to try and sneak past you. You'd likely follow us anyway and could jeopardize the entire thing or cause me no end of trouble anyway," said Dark simply.

"Do I know the client?"

"Yes, but you aren't getting their names. All you need to know is that they're closely related to the Vongola and won't go against your contract. They mostly hire me out on a case-by-case basis, so for the most part we stay in Namimori."

Reborn didn't like this much. There was far too much that was unsaid, but he clearly hadn't earned any points towards Tsuna's trust.

"What exactly will you be doing?" he asked finally.

"Same thing Dark always does. Steal from the museums and cause a big fuss with the cops. It's well known I have an aversion to lethal maneuvers and will go out of my way to prevent any deaths during my heists, so the cops tend to reciprocate in that regard. I might humiliate, but I have never killed during one of my missions. While everyone's watching Phantom Dark, the other party can act with a bit more leeway than normal. Though my cut of the mission will be a bit smaller."

Reborn frowned. He didn't like it, but it was clear that his student was on the clock.

He found himself sitting next to Hayato, mostly discussing minor mafia matters with code. Hayato even had a tablet so he could watch Dark work.

The phantom thief was a professional. He slipped past every trap, disabled the ones he couldn't, and stole the piece he had indicated before making a very flashy exit. He even tossed what was clearly a tracker onto a nearby cop car before anyone noticed.

With how flashy his exit was, all eyes were on the thief.

Hayato picked up his phone the second he got a text. He nodded and began to drive at a sedate pace, so as not to arouse suspicion. There was a slight thump from the roof of the truck, followed by an agreed series of taps.

The door at the back opened to reveal Tsuna, looking rather pleased with himself. He was already checking his phone.

"Mission accomplished. They got their job done and are heading back to base."

"Do I want to know what the other mission was?"

Tsuna's smile was somewhat odd.

"Really Reborn, do I really need to elaborate what sort of mission would only benefit from a very public distraction like the one we just caused?"

Reborn blinked.

"Not infiltration or theft, because you would have gone directly, likely without a notice for the first. A hit?" he asked.

"A contracted hit with a party I'm allied to. They don't hire me directly because it would only alert the idiot and the Ninth that I'm not a civilian anymore, at least until I'm eighteen," said Tsuna. "In exchange for causing a distraction when they need it, I get a third of the pay."

Reborn looked at Hayato.

"Don't ask me. They only hired the Boss, I'm just his assistant. Though Tsuna's usually good about splitting the sale of whatever he steals with me for my help."

"And how are you planning to sell it?"

"Same party that hires me does me a solid by selling the art work, so long as it's not an active threat. They get a cut of the commission and everyone's happy. Of course I usually dole out most of the cash I get from the sales to the slums. A good rep with people who know how to slip around unnoticed is worth more than the actual cash."

Reborn nodded. It was actually a good quality in a proper mafia boss. Sharing the wealth was a good way to earn the favor of people who would only be of use when you really needed it. They would also divert the cops without asking.

"Of course I will be saving a good amount for the date I have planned with Hibari. Odds are they'll pick someplace expensive just to annoy me," said Tsuna amused.

Hayato snorted.

"You're the one who suggested Hibari use you as a way to deflect the worst of what they would have to deal with."

Reborn blinked. Somehow he had the feeling he was missing something obvious.

* * *

 _Third POV_

"Well?" asked Xanxus.

"The mission went out a lot smoother with the distraction," said Squalo. "They didn't even see us coming, and the kid drew everyone's attention to him with that exit."

"I'm already preparing the sale of the painting," said Mammon.

They were happy to do so, since Tsuna agreed to let them have a twenty-percent off the actual price as a "commission". He wasn't doing this for the money, but the adrenaline rush. However getting rid of the painting was always a headache and a half, which is why they were happy to have a working relationship with Mammon. Even if it meant having to share a sizable chunk of the sales, it was a headache they no longer had to deal with.

"And the rest?"

"Voi. The kid at least does the paperwork promptly and his course has been weeding out the ones who wouldn't have lasted long anyway."

So what if their "Cloud" wasn't exactly in the mansion all the time. That's what teleconference was for, and the kid was at least more competent and loyal than Ottabio ever had been.

Tsuna was loyal to the Vongola, though not to the current generation, and he detested CEDEF almost as much as the Boss himself did.

Probably why Xanxus liked him so much.


End file.
